The Pact
by fireismyelement97
Summary: Bonnie is sent to Portland for her own protection and gets caught in a love triangle between Kai and Kol. Both men have their own agenda and she has to work with them to take down Klaus. Season 1 AU. Bonkai/kennett. Bonkai endgame.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey my lovelies, bet some of you thought you would never see me again, huh? I'm sorry for just going MIA and taking down my fics like that, but RL just got to be too much. I needed some time away from writing to focus on my career and I didn't know when or if I would be back, but I am. With a brand new account and I will be republishing some of my stories, starting with the pact. I am rewriting some things as I go, but I will try to update once a week. Sorry about the absence!**

 **Missed the bonkai and Kennett fam! Enjoy the read!**

 ***Disclaimer I own nothing etc.***

 **CHAPTER 1**

"Grams, please," Bonnie said, looking at Sheila. She did her best to ignore the vampires that were stalking around them in circles. Well actually only one of them was doing that. The tall, dark, handsome one. She got the feeling from his smirk that he was also the dangerous one. "We can't leave Stefan in there."

"Please, I love him," Elena said.

"I'm sorry, honey," Sheila said to both girls. "It's too dangerous."

"She's right you know," the man said. "If you cast this spell, your grandmother here will die."

"How do you know?" Sheila said with a steely-eyed stare.

"I know a witch, she tells me the most interesting things," he replied with a cheery smile and a wink.

If there hadn't been something malicious in his energy, Bonnie might of thought he was cute. The kind of guy she would sneak glances at when she passed him in the hallways at school. But he was giving off all kinds of bad vibes, maybe even more than Damon did.

"And we need you Bennett witches alive," the female with the blonde hair said. She was looking at Elena in a way that was almost pity. "Honestly, Stefan I thought you had better taste."

"Oh, I don't know, Rebekah, Elijah likes the whole doppelganger thing as well," the tall man said, smirking at Elena.  
Bonnie felt suddenly overcome with exasperation. When would all this badness end?

"Who are you?" she demanded, raising her chin stubbornly.

"I'm Kol Mikaelson," he flashed a smile. "And you're a tasty little thing," he said moving closer.

"Leave her be, brother," the second man said.

"You listen to Elijah, boy," Sheila said, and pushed Bonnie behind her.

Bonnie stared at her grandmother for a second. She knew this man?

"Grams!" Bonnie grabbed her arm, trying and failing to pull her behind her. For a woman of her age, Sheila was strong.

"What about Stefan?" Elena cried.

"What about him?" Rebekah spat. "He looks perfectly comfortable to me," she tossed a smirk at Stefan.

"Elena, get out of here. I'll be fine."

"Oh, Stefan," Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Always so noble."

"Yes, Elena, run," Damon said rolling his eyes. "Hey, witchy!" he said to Bonnie. "If you and your grandmother don't release me right this second I am going to kill you. Both of you. Slowly."

"Impotent threats are always so amusing, wouldn't you agree, ladies?" Elijah said to Bonnie and Sheila.

"I would," Sheila said. "You're where you belong, bloodsucker."

"No! Stefan!"

Elena's cries were pitiful and Bonnie ached to help her. But right now, they had more pressing concerns than Stefan. Especially, if it kept his psycho brother at bay. At least temporarily. But any break from Damon was a relief to Bonnie.

"Shut up or I'll gag you," Rebekah said to her. "Really Stefan? You love this hysterical little child?"

"Do I know you?" Stefan said, looking at the woman in confusion.

"Right, Nik stole your memories, I always forget," she said, looking sulky.

Bonnie froze. How could a vampire have their memories stolen? They couldn't be compelled.

"We're leaving now," Sheila told Bonnie and Elena.

"No! Stefan I'll bring you blood."

"Don't," Stefan said, looking pained. "Anything you bring me, I'll just have to share," he glared at Damon.

"Bring it anyway," Damon said, smirking.

"Would you mind joining us for dinner?" Elijah asked politely. "We have much to discuss."

"Certainly, I haven't seen you in decades. It's always nice to catch up with old acquaintances, in a public location," Sheila answered.

"What about Stefan –" Elena persisted, she would have said more, but she was interrupted.

"Shut up, doppelbitch or I'll knock your teeth out," Rebekah sneered.

Elena whimpered.

"Nice threat, sister," Kol said, winking at the blonde.

"Thank you, Kol," she said, obviously pleased with herself.

Bonnie shivered as she looked between the siblings. There was something horrifyingly unsettling about all of them.

XXX

Kai was sitting on the outskirts of the bonfire party. He was a senior, almost eighteen and had long since grown tired of these stupid parties. He only went back his twin, Josette – her name was almost as bad as his. Jo as she preferred to be called, had begged him. She said she wouldn't go without Kai, what would she do if something happened? He would remind her she was a witch with actual magic, something he would never stop envying her. Besides, he would tell her with a sneer, what did he care if something happened to her? He was the family sociopath, incapable of feeling anything. The abomination. To which Jo would roll her eyes and pout. Eventually he caved. He always did. He was never sure why. Maybe because there wasn't much else to do in Portland, and it got him away from his father.

Cassie Blake was one of the drunk girls dancing by the bonfire, she caught his eye and smiled. Then he thought; these parties weren't all bad as he returned the smile. Cassie was a petite brunette with big blue eyes. She was cute in that doe-eyed way. Kai liked girls, he really did, not all sociopaths do, and sometimes he especially liked the ones like Cassie. The ones that looked like prey. Kai returned the smile, using the one that was filled with boyish charm and danger. It was perfectly practiced.

Being out of touch with emotions meant Kai didn't often feel things himself. He had however, learned how to read the emotions of others very well. It was a special skill he possessed and was quite proud of. It was something that allowed him to carve out his own niche at school, as a dangerous bad boy, but not so dangerous that girls were afraid of him. Well some were, like Cassie, but they couldn't help being intrigued by him all the same. It made it easy to meet girls because no matter how many times he played the routine, each one became convinced they and they alone could reform him. Kai usually went along with it until he got what he wanted. Then he was done playing nice. He would watch the light die from their eyes as he burst their bubble, and see the heartbreak begin to set in. That was one of his favorite moments of his act.

Kai was watching Cassie dance, noticing how she kept looking at him shyly, never smiling after that first time, but shooting him stolen glances out of the corner of her eye, and when she caught him looking, she would blush and look away.

Images of tearing across the clearing, throwing her to the ground and taking her in front of everyone flashed across his mind. They mingled with images of tying her up, thrashing into her while she screamed, caught somewhere between pleasure and pain. That wasn't how the game was played though, so he shook those thoughts off.

He knew the longer he waited, the more desperate Cassie would get. The more pleased she would be when he finally did approach her, but he couldn't wait too long either. He'd perfected the waiting time. Just as he was about to stand up and make his move, Bryan, the world's most annoying quarterback, grabbed Cassie and started grinding down on her. Cassie looked uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough, Kai noticed with rage to push him away. Instead, she let him dance with her.

Growling, Kai scanned the crowd looking for Jo. She was on the other side, talking to their younger brother, Kyle. He was younger by four years and shouldn't have been here, but here he was. Of course, he was. Idiot that he was, he loved parties.

Kai stalked over and sat down next to Jo.

"Josette, sissy," Kai crooned, doing his best to charm her. "Can I borrow some of your magic?"

"What for?" Jo asked, looking startled.

He didn't answer, he simply glowered at Bryan who was still manhandling Cassie. Dammit, she was his! Not that Kai was emotionally attached, but he didn't like others playing with his things, whether or not they knew they were his.

Sociopaths and jealousy didn't mix. It tended to make him cranky.

"Oh," Jo said. "Kai, don't you'll get in trouble with dad –"

"You're not going to tell on me, are you, sissy?"

"You know I wouldn't," Jo said sighing. "But it isn't right."

"Josette," he pleaded. He was about two seconds away from grabbing her and stealing her magic without permission. Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face because Jo sighed again, this time in surrender.

"Here," she said, holding out her arm to him. "Try not to hurt me too much, 'kay?"

"Jo!" Kyle said, angry. "You can't just –"

"Kyle, stay out of it," Jo told him firmly.

"Thank you, sissy," Kai said.

He reached out, and touched the top of her hand. As always all it took was one thought and he could feel Jo's magic flowing into him, electrifying and exhilarating. It was a rush he would never tire of. Jo gasped, whimpering in pain. Kai let go and Jo sighed in relief. Kyle growled, annoyed at Kai's manipulation tactics.

Smirking Kai cast a simple incantation, one that sent Bryan stumbling into the dirt. Cassie looked concerned, but then Kai sent another nearby girl, Faye crashing into Cassie. They stumbled and fell together. He was on his feet in seconds, moving towards them. He glanced over his shoulder at Jo and winked at her. Jo rolled her eyes at him.

Kai stepped up next to Cassie, steadying her.

"You alright there, Cass?" he asked, turning on the charm.

Cassie looked up at him and her doe eyes widened in surprise at who had caught her.

"Kai," she gasped, pleased to see him and a little intimidated.

His smirk broadened.

"Me," he grinned.

 _Cassie had never been very bright and after a few drinks, she was even less so,_ Kai thought. Pleased when she didn't see the menace lurking just underneath the surface and returned his smile with a dazzling one of her own.

XXX

Bonnie sat down in the booth at _the Grill_ next to her Grams. She did hesitantly, and she kept shooting glances at the exit. She would love nothing more than to run out of here, but she had the feeling these vampires wouldn't like that, and they were outnumbered.

Elena had been sent home with a stern admonishment from Sheila to stay the hell out of vampire business. Advice it seemed they themselves were not going to take.

"Who are you guys?" Bonnie said, watching the three vampires.

They were sitting around the table, on the other side that wasn't a booth. Kol had sat down directly opposite her and was watching her with a curious look. The blonde appeared bored and pouty as she played the menu. The other one, the quiet man, Elijah seemed to be the one running the show. He was composed and watching them with a calm sort of detachment.

"We're the Original vampires," Kol replied, cracking a smile.

"The what?" Bonnie said, confused.

"Oh dear," Sheila said. "I hoped you weren't his siblings…" she murmured.

"You've heard about them?" Bonnie asked, turning to her grandmother and ignoring the intense look Kol was sending her.

"Once or twice from the stories. Until I met Elijah back in the 70's I half thought them to be legends," Sheila replied. "From what I hear, they bring nothing but trouble."

"Ugh, Nik brings nothing but trouble, you mean," Rebekah said, tossing the menu carelessly back on the table. "What on earth sort of backwater little town has Mystic Falls become?"

"I think you mean, has always been, sister," Kol replied.

"Who's Nik?" Bonnie demanded.

"Our brother, Niklaus," Elijah answered.

"Or Klaus as he prefers," Kol rolled his eyes. "He's an ass."

"He's the Original hybrid," Elijah said, with a sideways look at the other man.

"The abomination," Sheila said. "Is the word I think you are looking for."

Bonnie was completely confused. Were Original vampires like the first vampires? Did that make them different from other ones? She knew the older a vampire was, the more powerful it was. Did that mean they were the strongest vampires out there? Something about the dark intensity in Kol's eyes made her hope that wasn't the case.

"That's the one," Kol agreed, dark eyes dancing with amusement as he glanced at Sheila quickly, before refocusing his attention on Bonnie.

His staring was making her uncomfortable. Damon would do that too. She was beginning to think it was a vampire thing, like drinking blood and lurking.

"He's part werewolf, part vampire," Elijah said to Bonnie, speaking not unkindly. "He wants to break the curse that holds his werewolf side dormant. We cannot allow that."

"He's too powerful as it is," Rebekah said, with obvious disdain.

"And you want us to do what exactly?"

"We want you to help us put him down," Elijah replied. "Kol here was near perfecting a dagger that would work on Niklaus."

"Then he stabbed me and stole it," Kol grumbled.

"I'm not making any promises," Sheila answered coldly.

"I'm not even sure I want to help," Bonnie added, trying and failing to ignore Kol's scrutiny.

It didn't seem to matter where she looked she could feel his eyes on her. In answer, she would look up and catch his eye before avoiding them again. It was both uncomfortable and infuriating.

Who did he think he was?

"Who says you have a choice?" Rebekah drawled with a look that was ice cold.

Bonnie shuddered underneath her blue green eyes.

"Rebekah, please, try to be civil," Elijah chastised.

"Elijah," Rebekah pouted.

"There is one more thing, but we must speak privately in regards to this, Sheila," Elijah said, ignoring the other girl.

"Very well," Sheila said before Bonnie could argue.

"Kol and Rebekah will take Bonnie home. She'll be safe with them; I give you my word," Elijah said.

"If she isn't, Klaus won't be the only Original I'm after."

"Grams," Bonnie hissed. She didn't want to go with any of the Originals, least of all Kol, who either couldn't or wouldn't stop staring at her.

"Go with them Bonnie," Sheila ordered.

Bonnie had barely stood before Rebekah was striding toward the exit. Kol stood, waiting for her. While she walked toward the exit, Kol adjusted his long stride to keep pace with her.

"How old are you, Bonnie?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"Sixteen, why?" she answered, giving him a skeptical look.

"No reason really," he grinned. "It's young for this time."

"I guess," she said hesitantly. She was half tempted to ask how old he really was, but decided it against it. There was something about how old he might be that was a little creepy and a lot unsettling. Then again everything about Kol was unsettling from his good looks to his scrutiny.

Rebekah had already gotten in a car. Kol held the door to the backseat open for her and he got in the driver's seat. Rebekah was in the passenger's seat, primping her makeup and hair. Kol flashed her a smile before turning the key in the ignition.

The drive to her house was silent and Bonnie got out of the car.

"Thanks," she muttered and started walking to her front door.

To her annoyance, Kol came out the car and loped up beside her. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from groaning. Whatever she did, she had the feeling it would be stupid to insult Kol, he wasn't Damon. There was the very real chance she couldn't handle him.

At the door, Bonnie didn't stop to say goodnight, she just started unlocking the door, but Kol didn't leave or say anything. Finally, feeling like she might be overwhelmed by the tension she spoke.

"What do you want?"

"Be careful, Bonnie," he said.

"Are you threatening me?" she gasped.

"No," he said, cocking his head to the side and watching her with those too dark and too intense eyes of his. "I'm warning you. This doppelganger business always gets messy. Be careful."

"I can take care of myself," Bonnie said, raising her chin defiantly. Her voice and eyes were harder, more confident than she felt. Something was very wrong about these Original vampires, but she wouldn't let them know how much they frightened her.

"Good."

"But what do you care?" she asked, not quite challenging, but not far from it.

"I happen to hold witches in rather high esteem."

"Uh-huh," Bonnie said, staring at him blankly. "And?"

"And I happen to have known my share of Bennett witches over the years. Did you know your family has a history of untimely and gruesome deaths?"

"No, I didn't," she shuddered. "I'm not even sure I needed to know."

"Consider yourself forewarned, little witch," Kol said. "Goodnight, Bonnie."

"Goodnight," she echoed, scrambling inside.

Kol had spooked her even more than she already was. She'd thought there wasn't anything else he could say to frighten her further, but hearing about her family's morbid tradition of dying unnatural deaths had done it. Short of attacking her, it was the worst thing he could do.

XXX

Elijah studied the older woman, well older looking, he thought wryly. The only person older than he still alive was his older brother, Finn.

It was good to see Sheila again. The last time he had seen her, she had been trying to find a school in need of a Profess in the Occult. She was travelling the country taking odd jobs as a witch, both for humans and supernaturals. He had run across her in a bar playing pool and hustling every man there. She had never been one to brook fools and back then that was how she viewed most men.

Judging by the look she was giving him now, she still thought the same.

"What do you want, Elijah?" Sheila said, voice as sharp as her gaze, and her mind as well he had no doubt.

He knew from experience nothing except for the whole truth would satisfy her.

"We need help putting Niklaus down, it was as I said," he told her.

"Then why the need for privacy or should I say secrecy from my granddaughter?"

"Quite right you are," Elijah said, chuckling softly. "It's about Bonnie."

"Bonnie?" Sheila asked, immediately alarmed.

"Yes, we have – our whole family does as I am sure you know, has a history with witches," Elijah began. "None as powerful as your family of course," he was rambling. He cleared his throat and started again. "My point is, Kol has an acquaintance, a seer in the French courts in Europe."

"A seer?" Sheila asked, eyebrows raised. "Those are rare."

"They are," Elijah agreed. "But trust my brother to know the only one alive."

"So what does this seer know about my granddaughter?"

"Death," Elijah said, frankly. "Unless she leaves Mystic Falls."

"Vampire business," the woman hissed.

"Precisely," he replied. "She saw two futures for Bonnie. One, she stays here and dies trying to protect her friends, absurdly enough she dies more than once."

"No," Sheila hissed.

"My sentiments precisely," Elijah agreed. "In exchange for your assured help and that of your granddaughter, I will tell you how to save her."

"You have a deal," Sheila said. "Reluctantly so, but I want assurances of her safety."

"That I can guarantee, if I personally have to kill every single person that as much as looks at her funny," Elijah said, quirking his lips upward into a wry smile. He wondered what Sheila would make of that statement.

"Good," she said, returning the smile. Elijah had to admit, almost forty years later and she could still surprise him. What a rare find she was. "How do I begin to protect Bonnie?"

"Have you ever been to Portland, Sheila? Quaint place really," he said, straightening his cuffs.

"Portland?" she said in a low whisper. "The Geminis."

"The Geminis," he agreed.

"Oh, dear," Sheila groaned.

And he could tell by her tone that she understood very well what he meant by the Geminis and Portland.

"My sentiments precisely. They are an unpleasant lot."

"They are," Sheila agreed. "I'd hoped to never have to deal with Joshua Parker again."

Elijah chuckled. "I confess, I haven't seen Joshua since he was a boy, but I knew his father."

"Joshua is worse," she told him, face grim. "And he controls the coven with an iron fist, at least he did last time I met him."

"When was that?"

"Bonnie must have been about two years old," she said, pausing to think. "I was invited out to a gathering for the North American witches and covens. He introduced me to his two twins, they couldn't have been more than a year or so older than Bonnie at the time. It was the last time I attended one of his gatherings."

"Do you mind if I ask why?"

"If you want me to send Bonnie to Portland, I imagine you already know why," she said, expression grave. "Are you certain this is the only way? I'm taking a lot on faith here, Elijah."

"The only way Kol's seer could find that involved both of you surviving this," he said, gravely. "Would you like to see the vision for yourself? The witch she showed it to Kol."

"If I touch him, I can see it," she agreed.

"I'm back," Rebekah announced, sitting down with them. "And I want a drink. No offense Sheila, but that granddaughter of yours is really quite dull."

"Where is Kol?" Elijah said, exasperated and wanting to know why she was alone.

"Oh, he's hanging around outside the witch's house," Rebekah said, waving the waiter over.

"What?" Sheila growled.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Rebekah said, rolling her eyes.

Elijah groaned. His baby sister really was impossible.

"Kol doesn't harm witches," Elijah said. "But I'll deal with him."

"You'd better or I'll deal with him," Sheila answered. "You took her to my house?"

"I think so," Rebekah answered. Then she turned to the waiter that was on his way over, and ordered a cocktail.

"I'll need that vision, old friend."

"Of course," Elijah nodded.

"And I'll need for Bonnie's father to see it as well or he won't agree."

"We can arrange that," Elijah agreed. "As for Kol, I'll speak with him. He won't bother Bonnie."

"Bother her?" Rebekah answered. "Is that what you call it? He's stalking her, like the lunatic he is, but I doubt she knows it."

"Keep him away from her," Sheila said in a low, dangerous voice.

XXX

Sheila stood in the driveway to her home with Elijah. It wasn't long before Kol flashed in front of them. She fought not to flinch, she hated it when vampires used vampire speed. Just as she hated everyone thing about them. They were unnatural and they set off literally every magic alarm bell she had.

"Stay away from the girl, Kol," Elijah said in a voice that was almost weary. "She isn't for you, and you know it as well as I."

"Please, let's not get into that," Sheila answered, feeling faintly sick. The only thing keeping her going at this point was determination to protect Bonnie. She didn't want to do this, she had never wanted to, but the alternative seemed unthinkable. This was the only way Bonnie could be safe, would be able to grow old.

"But I like her," Kol said, pouting. "She's pretty and she's more dangerous than she looks, I can tell."

"Stay away from my granddaughter," Sheila hissed at him.

"Kol," Elijah said in a warning voice.

"As you wish," Kol replied. "Besides, I don't think she likes me much anyway. She's got this look in her eye, like she might set me on fire."

"You almost sound like you want her to," Elijah remarked.

"What can I say, brother? It would be hot," Kol said, smirking with a manic light in his eyes.

This time, Sheila did flinch. She couldn't help herself.

"Definitely stay away from my granddaughter," Sheila answered. "We'll talk in the morning once I've spoken to Joshua. And I'll want to see that vision. But for now it's late. Good night."

Then she went inside.

XXX

Bonnie went to the guest room she used in her grandmother's house. In spite of the lack of decorating she'd done, it felt more like home than her real room. The reason she didn't put up a more permanent base here, was because her dad wouldn't let her. He didn't want Bonnie spending too much time with Sheila, and getting ideas about witchy juju and nonsense. Some days she wondered if her dad really believed and if that was why he was so afraid of witchcraft, or if he really thought it was all nonsense. She'd never asked him.

She took out her laptop and tried to watch Netflix, except she couldn't find anything that appealed to her state of mind. Nothing seemed right, she felt wired and exhausted at once. She thought about calling Elena and checking on her, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't bear to listen to Elena plead with her to rescue Stefan. She didn't want to see Stefan suffer, but she also didn't want to let Damon out. Besides, her Grams was against doing the spell, and Bonnie couldn't do it on her own.

She felt wired, there was a sort of shift in the air. There was that another feeling too, the one that said she was being watched. Feeling a shiver of paranoia run down her spine, Bonnie got up and closed the blinds before getting back on the bed. It made her feel better, even if it was just in her mind.

Bonnie wound up pacing her room until her Grams returned. When she heard the front door being unlocked she rushed downstairs to greet Sheila.

"Grams!" Bonnie said, relief flooding her when she was unharmed.

"I'm fine, Bonnie," Sheila said. "I was more concerned about you with that Kol vampire hanging around."

"Kol's been hanging around?" she gaped, realizing it hadn't been paranoia and stress. It was her psychic powers alerting her to the danger.

"Yes, he has," she sighed. "Elijah's promised to handle him however, so let's not worry too much about him."

"Yeah, well that's not exactly reassuring," Bonnie snapped. "I don't trust any of them. Why can't we just tell them to get lost?"

"They're not the Salvatores," Sheila said giving her a hard look. "They're the Original family, and something tells me they won't take no for an answer. So I suggest we don't make them our enemies unless we have to."

"Great," Bonnie muttered. "What did Elijah want?"

"He had an offer for me," Sheila said. "But we can discuss it in the morning, Bonnie honey. I'm tired."  
"Grams, I'm worried. Please, just tell me what happened."

"I think it's best if you go stay with some friends of mine in Portland for a while."

"Portland?" Bonnie sputtered. "Is it family? Why?"

"Because it isn't safe here," Sheila said. "It's for your own good, I'm sorry Bonnie."

"Not safe? But why? What about you?"

"Bonnie, please just trust me on this."

Her Grams looked wearier than Bonnie had seen her in a long time. She felt a stab of compassion for the older woman. She knew she never would have suggested it if it wasn't for good reason, if she wasn't genuinely trying to protect her.

"Okay, Grams," Bonnie said. "But I don't trust them."

"I don't either, child. But I am going to protect you. I'll speak to your father and arrange everything in the morning."

"Alright," she agreed, but it was hesitant and panicked feeling. "Goodnight Grams."

"Night, child."

XXX

The next morning Bonnie was feeling considerably worse. She found herself walking to Elena's house. Ordinarily she would have driven, but she didn't feel up to it. She rang the doorbell and Jeremy opened the door.

"Hey, Bon," he said grinning happily at her.

Jeremy was struggling she knew that, but he was always happy to see her. They'd always gotten along and she wasn't sure when he'd gotten taller than her. Bonnie didn't think she would ever get used to looking up at him.

"Hey," she said. "Is Elena in?"

"Yeah, yeah, she is. Come on in," Jeremy said, stepping aside.

Bonnie walked through the door, but she had to brush past Jeremy to get inside because he didn't move aside enough.

"'Kay, is she upstairs?" she asked, already on her way up the staircase.

"Yeah, she is," Jeremy said. "But I've got to ask, is everything alright? She's been acting weird since she got home last night."

"Oh yeah, she's fine. Don't worry about it, Jer," Bonnie said, lingering at the bottom of the stairs. One foot on the first step.

"Alright, but did you guys fight or something?" he still looked worried.

"No, not a fight," she chewed on her bottom lip, trying to think of an excuse. "More like she has a problem that I want to help her with, but I can't."

"Girl stuff?" this time Jeremy made a face.

"Yeah, you could say that," Bonnie said, thinking that technically it was vampire business. Even Elena's relationship with Stefan was more vampire business than girl stuff, but there was no point in telling Jeremy.

"Alright," Jeremy said, still grinning at her for a beat too long.

Uncomfortable with the tension that was building, Bonnie hurried upstairs. She stopped outside of Elena's door and knocked.

"Come in," Elena said. She sounded strange, Jeremy was right.

"Hey," Bonnie said, coming in.

"Oh hey, Bonnie," Elena said, looking completely surprised. She was sitting at the window seat curled up with her journal.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Of course not!" Elena exclaimed horrified. "Why would you say that?"

"Because I just left Stefan there. And then Grams sent you home and – and – and –" she could have gone on, complaining about the Originals, but fortunately Elena interrupted.

"Bonnie, no! That isn't your fault," Elena said, sitting up. "C'mon," she patted the spot next to me. "Tell me what happened."

"I – oh, Elena," she said, sitting down next to her and burying her face in her hands. "I can't tell you everything, but Elena they're the first vampires."

"The first vampires?" she exclaimed.

"The first," she confirmed. "It's totally freaky."

"No kidding."

"I'm sorry about, Stefan."

"It's alright, Bon. It isn't your fault, but are you sure there's no way?" she looked at her sideways with tears in her eyes. It was a look that broke Bonnie's heart.

"I can't do it alone, Elena. I'm not strong enough," she whispered, unable to meet her eye.

"It's alright Bonnie. I just – it's my fault, you know? If Damon hadn't taken me or if I hadn't screamed, Stefan wouldn't be stuck there."

"It isn't your fault, Elena!" Bonnie said. "It's Damon's fault. Everything is always Damon's fault. He had to get Katherine out. She sounds like a manipulative piece of work to me anyway. Of course, only a real bitch could put up with him."

"Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed then she broke into fits of giggles.

"What? It's true!" Bonnie said, then grimacing she amended. "Well probably. Anyway, I've got some news for you."

"What kind?" Elena said, looking like she was hoping for good news.

Bonnie felt bad, because she was about to disappoint her friend.

"I might be going away, at least for a while, but it's not permanent, at least I don't think it is," Bonnie answered slowly. Unsure how much she trusted Elena with. This was witch business.

"Bonnie, what's going on? You're scaring me."

"I have to go to Portland. I'm not really – I can't say anything, not really. It's witch stuff."

"In Portland?" Elena said, unable to hide her shock. "Portland, Oregon?"

"Yeah, I know. It's weird," she sighed. "But it's not forever, 'Lena."

"It better not be!" Elena said and hugging her. "I need my best friend."

"Oh God, how am I going to get by in Portland without you and Caroline?"

"Well it'll be quiet," Elena laughed. "Because Caroline and I won't be there to fight."

That made Bonnie laugh too.

XXX

Kai still had some of Josette's magic left. It let him cloak himself and creep around his father's study. Joshua was so arrogant that it never occurred to him that one of his own children might be spying on him, especially not the abomination.

He saw his father answer the phone and then he listened in on the conversation. It didn't make much sense to him. It was a woman's voice and she was talking about an arrangement Joshua had suggested between their families. Joshua's brisk tones quickly cut her off.

"I remember the pact, Sheila," Joshua said, voice all business. "After all, I was the one to suggest it, but things are different now."

He could hear the woman, Sheila on the other end, talking. Saying that she needed this, that her Bonnie needed this. Or maybe it was Bunny. Kai wasn't sure. Either way, it seemed his family wasn't the only one with the tendency to give their children unfortunate names.

He wondered what was going on, when he heard Joshua telling them to come up at the end of the week. Assuring her that Kai would be a good match for her Bunny, Bonnie, Buffy maybe.

 _Buffy that would be hot_ , he thought to himself.

Then what Joshua was really saying sunk in and Kai gaped at him. Why was the leader of the Gemini coven acting as a dating service? And more importantly, why did he want to set up Kai? He hated Kai. He was the abomination. There was no doubt something very strange was going on. Especially since he now had his twin replacements making Kai disposable as coven leader. Wait till his father found out how Kai was going to solve that particular problem.

XXX

Sheila went to find Rudy along with Elijah. They were on their way to his office. Kol had let her touch him, and Sheila saw the vision. It was horrible. Bonnie sacrificing herself and everything that made her happy for her friends, Elena in particular until it killed her. Again and again, she died for those ungrateful kids! And Jeremy Gilbert. Sheila couldn't stand it.

The second vision was better, Bonnie happy and alive. It showed Bonnie in Portland. There was no denying it. The vision showed Bonnie among the Gemini coven in Portland with a permanent place among them. It was the only way she survived.

Sheila understood this, she only hoped she could make Rudy see reason.

"You might have to compel him," she told Elijah.

"You would be alright with that?" he sounded faintly surprised.

"I think you would be surprised what I am willing to do to protect my granddaughter."

"Oh, I don't know. I think perhaps I have a good idea," Elijah replied softly, glancing at her sideways. "It's a remarkable woman that will give her granddaughter to another coven to save her."

"You sound as if I have a choice in the matter. It's the only way she gets to finish growing up."

"The Geminis are a cruel and cold lot," Elijah said slowly. "I think you'll find she'll grow up in record time with them."

"Sadly, I know all too well what you mean. They are unyielding," Sheila agreed. "But I suppose anything is better than her dying on the day of her high school graduation," that image in particular bothered Sheila.

"Did you know, if we hadn't intervened, you would have died last night?" Elijah remarked.

"I saw that as well," Sheila closed her eyes, seeming to collect herself. "I owe you and your family a thank you, for protecting my granddaughter where I failed."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Elijah said, parking the car. "From what I can tell, Bonnie is a rather determined young lady. As is Elena. I can understand your desire to help them."

"But it's foolish," Sheila answered. "Witches we used to only care for our own. It seems we are forgetting that."

"Might not be a bad idea to remember that."

Sheila got out of the car and waited for him to pay the meter.

"I suppose not," she answered when she looked over. "But I do wish there was another option for Bonnie other than Portland."

"Is there another coven you can send her to?"

"No," she sighed. "And even if there was, only a man like Joshua Parker could keep Bonnie from running home to Mystic Falls at the first sign the people she cares about are in danger."

"Even tyrants have their uses, I suppose," Elijah hummed.

He held the door open to the office building for her.

"Don't you be telling Joshua that," she warned. "Besides, the sad fact is, there aren't many left of the old powerful families. In this modern age, our covens and lineages have begun to dwindle. Other than the Bennetts, the Geminis are the last truly powerful family in North-America."

"That's what Kol says."

Sheila nodded to the receptionist. The woman knew her on sight from years of Sheila storming into Rudy's office to yell at him about Bonnie. She usually didn't agree with Rudy's idea of parenting and she was never afraid to tell him.

"I've heard the European witch families have fared better though."

"Yes, and no. They are still in existence, but few in number and absurdly paranoid courtesy of the witch hunts."

"Paranoid you say?"

"To the point that they hardly dare practice their craft. Say what you will about the new world, but at least here the few witches in existence practice magic in style," he said with approval.

"That is surprisingly comforting," Sheila said with a sly smile.

She didn't bother knocking outside of Rudy's office. She walked straight in and was not surprised that Elijah followed her inside easily. He shut the door behind him.

"Sheila?" Rudy asked, looking surprised. "What's going on? Who's this? Is Bonnie alright?"

"Bonnie is fine," Sheila answered dismissively. "At least, she will be."

"I'm Elijah Mikaelson," Elijah answered holding his hand out.

"Rudy Hopkins," the other man replied shaking Elijah's hand.

"He's one of the first vampires," Sheila told him, ignoring Rudy's stunned expression and soundless sputtering. "And I have some very bad news about Bonnie."

Without waiting for an answer, Sheila grabbed Rudy's hand and passed the vision on along to him. He groaned and rubbed his head when the image disappeared from his mind.

"What was that?"

"Bonnie's two futures," Sheila told him.

"How do we save her?" Rudy answered, gesturing for them to sit down.

"Trust me, I don't like this any better than you do," Sheila told him. "But there is no other choice, so please bear with me, and keep in mind, no matter how bad you think this is, the alternative is Bonnie's life being miserable."

"And dying on numerous occasions," Elijah added helpfully.

"I'm listening," Rudy answered, visibly steeling himself for the bad news.

 **Thanks for reading. Reviews give me life so let me know what you thought! I'm no longer on tumblr, but I am on ff net if you have any drabble requests! I'm trying to do as much writing for fun so send them my way for bonkai and kennet.**

 **Izzy**


	2. Chapter 2

Bonnie was on her way to Portland. The drive with her Grams had been largely silent. This was a result of Bonnie trying to find out what was going on and Sheila dismissing it. She told Bonnie that she was going to stay with a coven she knew, they were called the Geminis.

"Lame ass name by the way," Bonnie told her. "I mean, really? The Gemini coven? C'mon Grams, who are these people?"

"Friends," Sheila replied tersely. "Alright," she said with a chuckle and a sly look at Bonnie when she saw the look of exasperation she was getting in return. "So perhaps they aren't friends, but they are allies and they are fellow witches and warlocks. You'll be safe with them because however, odd or secretive as witches might be historically speaking, we do take care of our own."

"Take care of our own? What does that mean?" Bonnie said, completely confused and tired of riddles. "I trust you, Grams I really do, but I can't help feeling like I'm not getting the whole story."

"It means you'll be safe with them," Sheila said, giving her a sideways look. One that implied she was proud of Bonnie. "As for the rest, you're right. You're going to stay with them because if you stay in Mystic Falls, it'll be the death of you."

"How do you know that?" Bonnie said, jerking upright. She'd been slouching back against the seat, knees resting against the dashboard. It was safe to say, her Grams officially had her full attention.

"Kol knows a seer," Sheila answered, sounding the exact opposite of pleased when she said Kol's name.

"What's a seer? Wait - like on Charmed? Someone that sees the future?" Bonnie said. "But we can do that."

"Not like a seer we can't," Sheila answered. "They can see the threads of destiny. They can see the different paths our lives can take and what the outcomes of those paths are."

"And that's what she saw in my future? Death?"

"Only if you stay in Mystic Falls," Sheila answered firmly. "If you left for Portland, she saw you being happy."

"How do you know?" Bonnie demanded.

"Because Kol was given the vision and he let me see it."

"I want to see it," she said, impatient and feeling herself getting fed up with all the secrecy. Why couldn't her Grams just have told her that to begin with?

"I don't think that's a good idea, child," Sheila answered. "I should have told you, but it's never a good idea to know too much about your own future. It has driven people insane."

Sheila pulled the car onto a dirt road, there were trees along the path. Outside of that, there were fields. It almost looked like farm country, but not quite. It was just a bunch of open land.

"Knowing you're hiding things from me is, way scarier than some vision that I need to stay out of Mystic Falls, Grams. And besides, it's not like I'm going to become obsessed with it."

"I should have known you'd feel that way," Sheila laughed softly. "I'm sorry, honey, I was trying to protect you."

"I know," Bonnie said. "So these Gemini people, not only do they live in Portland, but they live in the middle of nowhere."

"They're a bit -" Sheila hesitated. "Reclusive. They teach their children the craft from a very young age. As a result, they like their privacy, and in their defense, it is safer."

"So they're paranoid weirdos?"

"Pretty much," Sheila confirmed, nodding. "But they're paranoid weirdos you'll be safe with."

"That's something, I guess," Bonnie shook her head. "Seriously, they are starting to make Mystic Falls look central," she said when they were still driving with no houses in sight ten minutes later.

"Bonnie," Sheila clucked. "None of that when you meet them."

"Duh, I wasn't raised in a barn, which I'm beginning to think the Gemini kids are. Hey, do they have kids?"

"Yes," and now Bonnie noticed Sheila was gripping the steering wheel tensely. "There is quite a few of them. Seven children, I believe. You'll meet them when we get there."

"Sounds crowded," Bonnie muttered.

Sheila turned the car into a dirt road and parked. She got out. Bonnie followed her, there was nothing there but an empty field. Then as soon as she thought it, a big white house appeared.

"Here we are," Sheila murmured, walking towards the front steps.

"They really are paranoid weirdos," she said in a whisper.

"That's my dad for you," a deceptively charming voice said, laughing.

Bonnie turned to the side and saw a tall dark haired boy was standing not far from her. His eyes were blue and he was smirking, like a real predatory smirk. Something about the coldness in his eyes reminded her a little of Kol. That was an unsettling thought that made a shiver run down her spine.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Bonnie said.

"Not much of a witch are you, if you don't recognize a cloaking spell when you see one," the boy answered, now he was grinning.

"You must be Malachai," Sheila said, pausing on the front stoop.

"Call me Kai," he replied, breaking into a grin. "You must be the Bennett witches. Well since dear old dad doesn't know you're here yet; come with me," he skipped ahead of Sheila up onto the front porch. He threw the door open and spread his arms out. "Mi casa es su casa."

"Can you say; stuck in the nineties?" Bonnie whispered to her Grams.

"What are you talking about, child?" Sheila answered, looking for all the world entirely confused.

"It's nothing," Bonnie answered, shaking her head. She realized her Grams probably didn't know the difference between new and old slang.

"Come on," Kai said, leaning back out the door before going back inside.

"Let's get a move on."

Bonnie followed her Grams into the house hesitantly. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but there was something seriously wrong with this place. It was as if something lingered in the air. A sort of tension or a feeling of ill intent. Whatever it was, it made her uneasy. Her skin crawled.

Kai led them to the kitchen.

"Where's your dad?" Sheila asked. "I told Joshua specifically that I would be here -"

"I'm here," a voice said in the doorway.

Bonnie turned and saw an older, salt and pepper haired man with a beard leaning in the doorway. He almost looked like Kai, except his son was taller and nicer looking. Kai was ridiculously hot actually. Though Joshua Parker had obviously been alright to look at himself back in the days.

"Joshua," Sheila said, looking at him with coldness.

Sheila's black eyes were so cold it made Bonnie wonder. Why was Sheila trusting this man? She obviously did not like him.

"I thought Kai was out back with the other kids," Joshua answered. "I wasn't aware he would be creeping around."

"Ah, I can feel the paternal love," Kai said, sardonically clutching his heart.

Bonnie looked between the pair. Whatever creepy vibe she was getting from this place and from Kai, why did she have the feeling it could be traced back to Joshua?

"Why don't you take Bonnie to meet the others, Malachai?" Joshua said in a strained, almost angry voice.

"This way, Bonster," Kai said already leaving the room.

"Yeah, don't call me Bonster," Bonnie complained as she followed him out of the kitchen and out onto the porch. He was waiting for her in the doorway, leaning right next to it, and trapping her body between his and the door when he closed it. She felt herself blush under his scrutiny, but she wouldn't be bullied. "So what's up with your dad?"

"What about him?" Kai sing-songed. Then he gave her a serious, predatory and weirdly sexy look. One that had heat coursing through her body in a matter of seconds. "He's the great Joshua Parker, aka an ass."

"Uh-huh," Bonnie said, looking him up and down, then pushing him away. "Do you have space issues or something?"

"Maybe," he grinned. Except he pronounced it 'mebbe', making her roll her eyes. "Just checking out the new girl."

"Could you do it from a distance?" Bonnie said, pushing on his chest. Not surprisingly, she wasn't budging him as much as an inch. The guy was obviously in good shape and no matter how strong she was from cheerleading, he towered over her.

"Nah," he winked at her. "Dad didn't mention you were pretty."

"Seriously?" she gaped at him. "Move."

"Kai," a soft female voice said coming up the steps. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Kai turned around and it was a lazy movement. He smiled in amusement at the tall dark haired girl behind him. Her eyes were as blue as his, and she looked a lot like him.

"Sure, sissy," Kai said. "This is Bonnie Bennett, this is my twin sister, Josette Parker. We call her Jo. Unfortunate names kind of run in the family," he mock-whispered in her ear.

"Nice to meet you," Bonnie said to the girl. "Personal space!" she said to Kai, once again pushing on him.

He laughed.

"Kai, c'mon," Jo said, tugging on her brother's sleeve. "And Bonnie you can come with me. I'll introduce you to the rest of our siblings."

"Sure," Bonnie agreed happily.

She walked past Kai and followed Jo out into the backyard. It was huge. It was the sort of yard, she would have loved to have as a child. There was a jungle gym and a slide. Outside of the property there was nothing more than prairie land.

"This is beautiful," Bonnie told Jo.

"It is," Jo agreed. "But God it's dull here. It's nice to have another girl here my age," she smiled pleasantly at her.

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded and smiled, not knowing what else to say. Jo seemed really nice, but she had this feeling like there was something wrong with this place. Wrong with these people. She wanted to go home. She had friends there. Granted friends that were caught up in crazy vampire drama, but they were still her friends. Something occurred to her. "It'll be nice to be around some other witches for a change."

"Definitely," Jo agreed with a smile.

"Hey," a boy about her age said. There was a group of kids sitting by the table near the barbeque.

"This is Kyle," Jo said, pointing to the boy that had said hey. "That's our brother Joey," she said, to the other boy.

"I know, Jo and Joey," Kai said, sidling up next to her. "What did I tell you about our family and names?" he said playfully. "Of course, you Bennetts don't appear to be a whole lot better at it. Or what do you think, Bunny?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at Kai and decided to ignore him.

"This is Annie and Katie," she pointed to the other two girls. "And the little ones are Liv and Lucas."

"Hey," Bonnie said smiling at them.

She sat down in the chair next to Kyle.

"What grade are you in?" he asked immediately.

"She's too old for you, Kyle," Katie said, the youngest of the girls. She couldn't have been more than eight and she was looking at her brother in exasperation.

"I'm a sophomore," Bonnie told him, grinning at Katie's comment. "You?"

"Ninth grade," he said.

"Like I said," Katie muttered.

The Parker siblings, as Bonnie discovered quickly were pretty normal. With the exception that they used magic to do a lot of little things. That she noticed when she watched Jo and Kai barbecue. Well Jo did a lot of magic, Kai mostly just harrassed his sister and dictated her idea of cooking. That led to Jo threatening him with the barbecue tongs. Bonnie who didn't have siblings, wasn't sure where the line between sibling fight and actual danger went, looked at Kyle.

"Should we be worried about that?" she whispered, nodding toward Kai and Jo who were swiping at each other with barbecue tongs and the spatula.

"I'm not getting involved," Kyle muttered. "I don't want Kai taking my head off."

"Excuse Kyle, he's a chicken," Annie said.

Annie was a bubbly little girl that couldn't be more than ten. Like her sister, Katie she seemed older and was obviously smart. Bonnie could tell by how she talked.

"No, I just know better than to pick a fight with Kai, unlike Jo," Kyle muttered defensively.

One of the twins, Liv banged her hand on the table. Bonnie glanced at the two year old and grinned.

"What you want, honey?" she asked the little girl.

She slammed her hand on the table again.

"Are you hungry?" Bonnie asked.

"Probably," Annie said. "Jo the twins are getting hungry."

"Give them some bread," Jo answered, she was completely over this. Bonnie could tell by the tone she used with Annie and the way she snapped the barbecue tongs at Kai's fingers.

"Here, I'll do it," Bonnie answered.

She got up and started slicing the bread up into four little pieces. She gave them each their plastic plate and filled their sippy cups with juice.

"What do they like on bread?" Bonnie asked Jo.

"Peanut butter," she answered.

Kai hit Jo's back with the spatula and she slapped him upside the head. Bonnie looked away and ignored whatever fight they were having over the cooking.

She buttered their bread and put it in front of the twins with peanut butter.

"Here you go, munchkins," she told them.

"You're good with kids," Kyle said, eyeing her in a way that was almost impressed. Bonnie noticed he'd spent as much time as possible avoiding his youngest siblings.

"I used to babysit my cousins on my dad's side during the summer."

She hated visiting her dad's side of the family growing up. Mainly because they were super normal and super boring. Besides, it always meant as the oldest cousin she got stuck with babysitting duty. She hated babysitting. Bonnie wasn't a huge fan of kids, in fact, most days she didn't like them unless they were potty trained, but the kids were cute with their blonde hair that shone like gold in the light. Complete opposites of the dark older twins. Yet they looked alike somehow anyway. If she didn't have to babysit them, she might like the little twins.

"Cool," Kyle said, going back to his gameboy.

"Kyle, manners," Jo said, slapping the back of his head now. "Sorry about him. None of my brothers have basic people skills."

"That is hurtful and false, sissy," Kai said, flipping a burger. "I am super popular with the girls at school," he winked at Bonnie.

She rolled her eyes at him in response.

"Only because our school is filled with airheads," Jo fired back. "And before you put some smooth-talking spin on that, I mean, girls too stupid to know any better."

"I think you just wish you got as much play as I do," Kai hummed, obviously pleased with having successfully irritated his sister.

They were so different from Elena and Jeremy. The Gilberts didn't argue, not quite like this. Whenever they fought it was about something serious. Like Jeremy's drug habit or whatever. This squabbling that Kai and Jo were doing was different, somehow less serious and yet more antagonistic in its own way.

By the time Sheila and Joshua joined them, the food was ready. Everyone filled a plate and sat down. Bonnie noticed Joshua wasn't the one that sat down with the twins to help them eat. It was Jo, who had some help from Annie and Katie. Kai didn't look overly interested in helping. Instead, Bonnie noticed he seemed to be trying to stay on the outskirts of his father's attention. Not sitting down at the table, Kai leaned against the barbeque, just outside of Joshua's peripheral vision. Not antagonistic per say, but not skulking either. It was like he was silently hostile or resentful. As she watched them interact or not interact, that same feeling of dread or uneasiness washed over her again.

"How long are you staying, Mrs. Bennett?" Jo asked politely as she was wiping Lucas's face.

"I have to leave later tonight," Sheila answered. "And it's Sheila, honey. I don't even like my students calling me professor."

"What?" Bonnie said turning to look at her. "Grams, you didn't tell me you were leaving already today."

"I wasn't planning on it, but Elijah called."

"So what? He calls and you just leave me?" she said in an angry whisper. Bonnie was aware they weren't alone and that she was about five seconds away from causing a scene, but she seemed unable to stop herself.

"It's important," Sheila said. "You'll be fine. I'll be back up to visit in a day or two."

"Great," Bonnie muttered. "You leave me here and go take care of the Original family. It's not like I'm your only family or anything."

She felt the hairs at the back of her neck prickle, and when she looked up, she saw Kai was watching her with an odd expression.

"If I don't go, Kol will be coming up," Sheila answered. "I don't want him around."

"Well I don't want any of them around you," Bonnie told her.

"Bonnie," Sheila said, tired and annoyed. "We've talked about this, now leave it alone."

"Fine, but if they get you killed. I'm going to find a way to kill all of them."

"I for one, believe her," Kai said. "You're terrifying for a girl named, Bunny, you know."

"Why do you keep calling me Bunny?"

"Isn't that your name?" Kai said, winking at her.

"Malachai," Joshua said tersely. "Would you please refrain from provoking our guest?"

"In all fairness, dad," Jo said. "I think the Original vampires provoked her. Kai's just a convenient target because he keeps calling her Bunny."

"Don't make excuses for your brother," Joshua said coldly.

Something about the tone of his voice made a shiver run down Bonnie's spine.

XXX

Kai knew what his father expected of him with Bonnie. He'd thought about telling him to go to hell, but had decided to hold off until he met the girl. Bonnie was a pretty girl, and she looked like prey. Yet he'd figured out he was wrong when he'd tried to push her buttons by cornering her on the terrace. She'd physically shoved him. She might be tiny, and cute, and even look like prey, but this girl wasn't Cassie. She wasn't prey.

That combination, it excited him.

Kai thought he might do what his father wanted, just this once. If only because it would allow him to become coven leader first. Joshua had taken his eldest son aside earlier that day for a conversation about responsibility. Coven before family and so on. All the usual stuff, and then he got to Bonnie Bennett.

Well Kai decided his father finally lost what little sanity he did have. Either way, now that he'd met her. He'd go along with it, and secure himself the place as coven leader early if need be. Not that it would save his siblings, but hey, his father wanted to give him a chance, well he could take that opportunity.

He wasn't stupid, he knew Joshua didn't plan on letting him complete the merge with Josette. Why else would his parents have continued to have children until they had a replacement set of twins? Of course, those twins cost their mother her life in childbirth, and Kai had the feeling there was something not quite right about the whole thing.

Well whatever had killed his mother, Kai was determined not to let Joshua steal his birthright. If that meant he literally had to charm the pants off Bonnie, it was a challenge he would gladly accept.

He listened as Bonnie bickered with the old woman about her leaving and the Original vampires. Kai really didn't like vampires and from the sounds of it, neither did Bonnie. Though he did admit, he was curious about the Originals. They were the oldest vampires out there and the most powerful. Power always got his attention.

They finished dinner and Joshua told Josette and the others to do the dishes. Then he told Kai to help Bonnie with her bags.

"C'mon, Bon," Kai said, cheerily already on his way to their car.

He could hear her following him, but he knew she was hesitant. She didn't like him. He wasn't stupid and he knew he'd freaked her out earlier with the whole trapping her between him and the door. He grinned, she was smart to be afraid of him. If she only knew.

"Does everyone in Portland do the whole unwashed grunge thing or are you special?" she asked, and he could hear the disdain in her voice.

"Unwashed? Ouch," he cringed, putting on a show. "And only the ones with good taste in music," he tossed her a lazy smirk over his shoulder. "So what are you supposed to be, Bunny? A cheerleader?"

"Actually, yes," she said, and he could feel her glare boring holes into the back of his neck.

Ooh, he'd made her angry, he liked that.

"Did you bring the uniform?"

"Pig."

"Just a question, Bonster," he told her. Voice innocent, but thrilled he'd pissed her off. Bonnie was feisty and she was hot as hell when she was mad at him. He wondered if she knew he was doing it on purpose, probably not he decided. He made up his mind to find out just how far he could push her before her temper got the best of her.

"It wasn't just a question, you were delibaretely being a pig," she told him. She unlocked the car and started taking her bags out of the trunk. She threw a duffelbag at him. "And don't think I haven't heard that question before," she rolled her eyes.

"I'd be surprised if you hadn't," he smirked. He took the other two bags as well. "A lot of luggage you got there, Bon."

"Well apparently I'm being dumped here at least until Christmas," she exclaimed. "Who knows what I'll need?"

"So testy," came a second voice.

Kai hadn't felt him sneak up, but he should have. He was coming towards them, tall and dark eyes. He moved like a predator. Kai should have sensed his presence, should have sensed another dangerous creature like himself.

"Kol," Bonnie whispered in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking in," he smirked, coming to a stop in front of Bonnie.

"Let me guess, Original vampire?" Kai asked, watching the scene between the pair play out with amusement. Bonnie very obviously didn't like this guy. Yet he sensed a sort of attraction, at least on Kol's side. He wanted her. Kai didn't like that. Bonnie was his. She just didn't know it yet, but he was willing to bet, this Kol guy knew.

"Kol Mikaelson," he said eyes skimming him with disinterest.

"Kai Parker," he replied. "How did you get inside our wards?"

"Brought a little something with magic," he held up a necklace.

Kai's eyes followed that. He wanted it. He could feel the magic pulsing from it. He was running low. Jo had given him some magic this morning, which meant he still had some in his system, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough.

"Huh," Bonnie said, she was slowly backing away. Then she noticed Kai was directly behind her. She froze, seeming to not like any of the options.

"Yes, well thanks for dropping by," Kai said. "Let's go Bunny before your Grams starts looking for you."

"I want to talk to Sheila," Kol said, ignoring him and looking at Bonnie, who was shooting glances between the men.

Kai cocked his head to the side, watching her. He wondered which one she would flee to or if she would turn and run in the one unblocked direction. It led to nothing, but forest. Yet he had the feeling she was considering just taking off at a run for the woods. That would be an interesting development.

"She's inside," Bonnie said.

"And you're not invited," Kai smirked.

"I'm supposed to be intimidated by a twelve year old?" Kol asked, looking him up and down with disdain, before scoffing.

XXX

Bonnie glanced at Kai, and saw the dark rage building in him when Kol insulted him. She bit back a smile.

"Kol, does Elijah know you're here?" she said, trying to keep things civil.

Kai was either really stupid or dangerous to be mocking an Original. She thought maybe dangerous when she saw the deadly rage that settled on his face.

"Why? Are you afraid, little witch?" Kol asked her, a teasing smile on his lips.

"No," she shot back. "I just don't know why you're here."

"I'm not telling you," Kol answered. "Be a good girl and go get your grandmother. Better yet, invite me inside."

"Not my house."

"Don't think so," Kai said, and no, it wasn't her imagination, he was dangerous. She could see it in his stance, that arrogant self-assuredness he used, it was almost lazy. It wasn't just because he was a jerk, he was a dangerous jerk.

"Kol, please just wait here, okay?" Bonnie asked, pleading with him using her eyes.

"Fine," he said. "He can go, you wait with me, Bonnie."

"Scream if he attacks you," Kai said, sauntering off. It was said in a lazy voice, and Bonnie got the feeling he didn't really care if Kol hurt her or if he played nice.

"What's with him?" Kol asked.

"You guys were doing the whole macho thing," she shrugged. "I don't know. I think he's an ass."

"You alright?" he said, giving her a scrutinizing look.

"Yeah, what do you care?"

"I like you, Bon-Bon," he said, grinning at her wickedly.

"No, you don't. You just like scaring me."

"Not true," his smile turned innocent. "I like pretty little things with sharp tongues," he said, leaning in to whisper in her ear, making Bonnie gasp and shiver as she backed up.

"Hey!" she snapped. "Keep your distance!"

"I wasn't going to bite you, darling. Unless you want me to?" this was said with a teasing smile and heat in his voice, that made her blush in spite of the rage that was building.

"I am so fucking sick of vampires. You have absolutely no idea Kol, so don't push me."

"I suppose you would be after having dealt with Damon Salvatore. The ego on that baby vampire, he actually believes he's -"

"Kol," Sheila said coming down the front porch. "I thought Elijah made it clear you are to stay away from my granddaughter."

"Was that a part of our deal? I don't recall," Kol replied, eyes black and unflinching.

Bonnie noticed that both Joshua and Kai returned with her Grams. Kai was on his way down toward her, he grabbed the rest of her things and jerked his head for her to follow him.

"Go with Kai, Bonnie," Sheila said to her. "I'll deal with this."

"I don't -"

"Go with him, I'll stay with your Grams," Joshua cut her off.

"Okay," Bonnie nodded. "Bye Kol."

"See you around, Bonnie," Kol answered with those black eyes of his watching her, his expression was completely unreadable.

Suddenly afraid of him, she hurried after Kai, who was waiting for her right inside of the door.

"So your boyfriend is an Original vampire," Kai said as he started walking up the stairs.

"He isn't my boyfriend."

"Not sure he knows that," Kai said, grinning at her over his shoulder. Something about the way he was looking at her made her shudder. "You're sharing a room with Jo, hope that's cool."

"Sure, whatever," Bonnie said. She bit back a groan. She was an only child, she'd never shared a room for more than a night at a time on sleepovers. Except for last summer when she'd gone to cheerleader camp. By the time the six weeks were up, she wanted to murder someone and was actually quite pleased with herself that she didn't. Caroline in particular, was lucky to have survived. As much as she loved the blonde, she could be a bit of an overbearing dictator, especially when it came to cheerleading.

"And if it's not cool with you, you can always bunk with me," he winked at her.

"You're hilarious," she said sarcastically. "Also, take a hint; I'm not interested."

"Ouch," he laughed. He opened the door to a room. "Here you are."

Kai dumped her things on the floor and Bonnie went past him to get settled in.

"Thanks, I guess," she muttered, glaring at him.

The second she'd set foot inside of the room, he'd moved to block the doorway. Bonnie was beginning to think he enjoyed boxing her in. She thought maybe that was how he got his kicks, scaring girls.

"So I take it since you aren't interested, vampire boy down there is your boyfriend," Kai said, crossing his arms and tilting his chin down to look at her.

"No, and I just find you, well the word I am looking for is deranged, I think," Bonnie said pausing to think.

"Feisty," he smirked.

"Are you leaving yet?"

"Nope," he said, tilting his head down to look at her.

"Seriously?"

"Make me," he winked at her.

"Yeah, I'm not going to do that," she rolled her eyes. "Move," she said, pushing past him to get through the doorway.

Kai didn't budge, but she managed to barrel past him through sheer force of will.

"You're rude."

"So are you," she said sweetly.

Bonnie walked back down the stairs and outside only to find Sheila and Joshua were gone, as well as Kol. She half-wished she had Kol's number, just so she could call and find out what he really wanted. And who knew, maybe hitch a ride out of town. Sure, the vision showed her dying in Mystic Falls, so she could go somewhere else. Somewhere other than this creepy house, where everyone was nice and normal, except not normal.

"They're probably in my dad's study," Kai said. "But you won't be able to creep around and spy on them there."

"I wasn't going to," Bonnie said, offended.

"Sure you were," he grinned, before sauntering off.

Bonnie shook her head, and decided to go see what the rest of his siblings were up to. They were still in the back yard. Joey and Katie were running around, climbing the jungle gym. Jo was watching the twins totter around and Kyle was on the gameboy. Bonnie sat down next to Jo on the grass.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey, Bonnie," Jo smiled. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're being left here while your grandmother gets involved in vampire business," Jo answered matter of factly. "Dad always says to stay out of vampire business."

"So does Grams," Bonnie answered. "Yet here we are."

"Well I have the feeling Original vampires aren't very good at taking no for an answer," Jo commented, hands playing with the grass.

"That's because they're not," Bonnie agreed with a hollow laugh.

XXX

Saying goodbye to her Grams was painful. Bonnie went upstairs when Sheila left. She lied down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Jo's bed, fortunately for both parties since they didn't know each other, could be seperated into twin beds.

It wasn't long before Jo tracked her down.

"Hey Bon," she said, leaning against the doorway. "We're playing a boardgame if you want to join," she told her, smiling.

Bonnie was touched by Jo's attempt to include her, she really was, but she didn't think she would be very good company at the moment.

"Thanks, but I don't want to bring down the mood," Bonnie told her, returning the smile.

"You don't need to worry about that," Jo answered. "Kai's gone off with dad again. That never ends well."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out," Jo told her cryptically.

Game night turned out to be a lot of fun. The Parker siblings were fun, with the exception of Kai, who creeped her out for no real reason.

Bonnie and the other siblings were having a nice time playing a boardgame until Kai and Joshua returned. Joshua came in, slammed the door and stormed upstairs to his bedroom. Kai sauntered into the room, looking exhausted and angry.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked.

She realized it was a mistake when Kai shot her a furious look and the other siblings exchanged frightened looks.

"I have to put the twins to bed," Jo announced. "Bonnie you can help me. Everyone else, to bed."

Katie, Annie, Joey and Kyle didn't waste any time in running upstairs.

"Leaving already?" Kai asked them, smirking at Bonnie.

"Don't let him get to you, Kai," Jo said softly. "Do you want to help with the twins?"

"What do you think, sissy?"

"Goodnight, Kai," Jo answered, looking at him with concern.

Bonnie helped Jo put the twins to bed and watched her read to the other kids. It was sweet. Yet the whole thing, there was something in the mood of the house that was upsetting. Bonnie didn't know what was going on, but it was giving her a stomach ache.

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought in a review, how was the Kol/Bonnie/Kai tension? Are we leaning towards Kennett or bonkai? Because this story could go either way, though at the moment I'm feeling a bonkai endgame. I'm fireismyelement 97 on tumblr. I got back on there as well. Happy holidays!**

 **Izzy**


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Bonnie went with the Parkers to school. First though, Jo and Kai were responsible for dropping the twins off at daycare, and then their other younger siblings in elementary school, middle school and junior high. Finally, afterwards Bonnie and the twins went to her new school.

Bonnie noticed that Kai might be the one driving, but Jo did literally everything else. To the point, that he almost only ever spoke to Jo out of all his siblings. She was definitely the only one he had a nickname for, otherwise he kind of just ignored the rest of them. Sadly, for Bonnie, he wasn't ignoring her.

"So are you nervous?" Jo asked pleasantly as Kai found them a parking spot.

"Not really," Bonnie lied.

That wasn't true. She'd hardly slept last night because of whatever tension went on between Kai and his father. Not to mention the terror of starting at a new school. Bonnie had never been to a new school before. All the way from kindergarten up till now, she'd gone to school with the same people. She was popular in Mystic Falls, but how would she be received here in Portland?

"You'll be fine, Bunny," Kai said, looking at her in the mirror of the car. "Cheerleaders always are, isn't that right, sissy?"

"Kai, would you lay off the cheerleading thing? So what if I joined the squad?" Jo complained. "But if you're a cheerleader, you're in luck. One of our girls broke her leg last week. We need a replacement. I'm co-captain, I can get you the spot if you want," she offered with a friendly smile.

"That would be great, thanks," Bonnie said, returning the smile.

"Guess I get to see you in that uniform after all, Bonster," Kai said, smirking. There was heat in his gaze, and Bonnie found herself fighting not to blush.

Sure, Kai was hot, but he was obviously trouble. And she was living in his house. Whatever game he was playing she wasn't going to play with him.

"Kai, grow up," Jo told him, rolling her eyes.

Kai just laughed.

The school building was an old brick building with a sign outside. There was plenty of open lawn space in front of it and it looked a lot like her high school in Mystic Falls. That made her feel better because it wasn't so different, and then at the same time it made her feel worse because it made her homesick.

"I'll take you to registration," Jo said when they were getting out of the car.

Jo helped Bonnie register with a surly old woman and then she took her to her first class, AP history. Bonnie hated history, but she figured it beat a science class as an elective so she'd chosen it.

"Thanks Jo," Bonnie told her when she found the classroom.

"No problem," Jo told her smiling. "Good luck, Bon!"

"Thanks again," she said as she went in.

Bonnie took a seat at the very back of the classroom and took out her notebook. She just hoped her teacher wasn't one of those jerks that decided they needed to introduce the new students.

"I'm Cassie," a girl who sat down in front of her said, turning around in her chair and smiling. "Cassie Blake. You must be new."

"Hey, I'm Bonnie Bennett," she said. "I just moved here from Virginia."

"Wow, that's exciting," Cassie grinned. "I actually just moved out from California this semester."

"California? That must have been nice," Bonnie said, smiling.

"Oh, it was," Cassie grinned. "But it isn't so bad, really it isn't. Everyone's been so nice."

Somehow the two of them managed to make small talk until the teacher came in, and to Bonnie's relief, he wasn't one of those teacher's that introduced the new students. He was also a much better teacher than Mr. Tanner back in Mystic Falls, though Bonnie felt bad for thinking it because he was dead. All in all, Bonnie thought Mr. Saltzman was alright. She did notice though, that more than one of her female classmates seemed to think he was cute.

Cassie was in her next class too and she walked with Bonnie chatting the whole way there. Along the way, she stopped and introduced Bonnie to a few of her friends, Adam, Nick and a girl named, Diana. Diana sort of looked like Caroline, and it made Bonnie miss her friend.

The next two periods flew by and Bonnie felt quite relieved to have met Cassie. She was being so nice and helpful, it almost felt like she wasn't the new girl. Not that Bonnie had ever been the new girl before or really knew what that was supposed to feel like, but at least she didn't feel like an outsider.

Lunch was a terrifying prospect, Bonnie was relieved when Cassie found her after her class and walked to the cafeteria with her. If the other girl hadn't offered, Bonnie would have to call Jo, and she was sort of hoping to avoid Kai some more.

No such luck.

Cassie immediately spotted Kai, who was having lunch with Jo and some of her girlfriends. She waved and smiled at him before leading Bonnie over to their table.

"That's Kai," she whispered to Bonnie. "Everyone says he's trouble, but I don't think he's so bad."

"You know Kai?" Bonnie said, wondering why this sweet girl was crushing on such an ass.

"Of course I do. Wait you know him?" Cassie asked, eyes widening in surprise.

 _Shit, now she's going to think I like him or something stupid_ , Bonnie thought. That would be bad because it would mean she might lose her only friend here. No, it would definitely mean she would lose her only friend here, besides Jo. She would have to handle this in a way that made it clear, she wasn't really a Kai fan. At all.

"Yeah, his dad is a friend of my Grams'. I'm staying with them for a while. Jo is so nice," Bonnie said, smiling brightly.

"You're Jo's friend?" Cassie chatted happily.

Bonnie sighed in relief. She dodged a bullet there.

When they sat down, Jo introduced her to the rest of the girls.

"They're all cheerleaders, just like you, Bunny," Kai leaned in way too close to tell her that.

Bonnie kicked him under the table.

"It's Bonnie," she hissed back at him.

"And I see you've met Cassie," he said, putting his arm around the other girl. It was an affectionate gesture, but Bonnie thought there was something off about it.

"Yeah, she's great," Bonnie agreed. "So nice, just like Jo."

"Nice is overrated," Kai whispered, so she was the only one that heard.

Bonnie was definitely not imagining things, there was something a bit off about Kai or he was hitting on her. She couldn't make up her mind.

Luckily for her, Jo started telling the other girls that Bonnie was a cheerleader back in Mystic Falls, which led to a conversation about competitive cheerleading. By the time lunch was over, Bonnie was more or less guaranteed the available spot on the squad.

The rest of the day passed almost painfully slow, and Bonnie rushed out of her last class to wait for Jo and Kai by their car. She leaned against the car and checked her phone. She had three missed calls from Caroline, and a good luck text from Elena. Matt had tried to call her once. Bonnie answered the text from Elena quickly, and decided to call Matt back first. It would probably be a quicker phone call than the one to Caroline. They could talk once she was alone.

"Hey," Matt said answering on the second ring.

"Hey Matt," Bonnie said happily. "God, I miss you already."

"I miss you too, Bon," Matt told her. "What are you doing in Portland? And tell me you're coming home soon. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"It's sort of complicated, but I'm staying with some friends of my Grams. I kind of left the day after I found out."

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, it's fine," Bonnie said, doing her best to sound cheery. She was more worried about Matt in Mystic Falls with everything that was going on. "How are you doing? Tell me what I've missed at school."

"Well let's see," Matt said thinking. "Caroline and Elena are kind of at each other's throats. I think it's about Damon."

"Damon? Damon Salvatore?" Bonnie said, alarmed. He was stuck in a crypt how could he still be causing trouble?

"I guess both the Salvatores have sort of vanished and Caroline is convinced Elena knows where they are. She seems really desperate to find him, Bon."

"That's not good," Bonnie said, chewing on her bottom lip. Maybe her Grams could ask Elijah to check in on Caroline, make sure she wasn't under some kind of creepy vampire compulsion or something?

She saw Kai and Jo approaching in the distance.

"No, it's not," Matt agreed. "But I'm sure they'll be friends again in a week or so. You know, once Damon and Stefan reappear. The Sheriff doesn't think there's any foul play, at least not according to Caroline. I think it's part of what's driving her crazy."

"I'm sure it'll all work itself out," Bonnie agreed. She should be there. She should be helping them solve this. Not in Portland going to a new school and acting normal.

Bonnie saw Jo and Kai making their way over. She smiled and waved. Jo waved back and Kai, being Kai smirked.

"I hope so," Matt said. "But I'm kinda worried Caroline and Elena will kill each other without you to mediate."

"Oh God, I hadn't even thought of that," Bonnie said, horrified. She knew something was very wrong about Caroline's relationship to Damon, but she just thought that would sort itself out now that he was gone. She hadn't even considered that Caroline and Elena might need her to save their friendship. "Maybe you can try to be a bit of a buffer or something?"

"Sure, sure," Matt said, sounding horrified. "Meanwhile, I've got to keep Tyler from tearing Jeremy apart because they're both after my sister, and oh yeah, deal with Vicky."

"Okay, I get it. You've got your hands full," Bonnie said, when Kai and Jo made it over to the car. She mouthed 'hey' at them.

"No shit. Bon, when are you coming back?"

"I don't know, Matt," she muttered, noticing that Kai was watching her. In fact, he'd sidled up next to her and was leaning next to her, ear pressed against the phone. She changed hands and turned away from him.

"Kai, knock it off," Jo said. "I want to go home."

"Is that a boy?" Kai said, leaning towards her.

"Go away!" Bonnie hissed at him, getting in the car.

"Bon, what's going on? Who is that?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, Bunny who is that?" Kai said, getting in the backseat with her. He'd tossed the keys to Josette.

"No one, Matt," she told him, giving Kai a dirty look.

"No one?" he raised an eyebrow. "Ouch, Bonster. Words hurt you know."

"Jo, please deal with your brother for me," Bonnie said, groaning.

"No one can deal with Kai," Jo grumbled.

"All a part of my charm," Kai said, tilting his chin down and giving her a playful look.

"Bonnie?" Matt said.

"I've gotta go, Matt. I'll call you back, tonight, okay?" she told him as she was already hanging up. "What did you do that for?" she complained turning to Kai.

"I want to know who the boyfriend is," Kai said, still teasing.

"I don't know. Why don't you go ask Cassie?" Bonnie snapped, fed up with him.

"Jealous," he sing-songed. "Told you she liked me," he said confidently to Jo.

Bonnie blushed and rolled her eyes. It hadn't escaped her attention that Kai was totally hot, but that didn't mean she was interested in him. Not at all. He was being a jerk, and he already had a girlfriend, sort of. Whatever Cassie was. Either way, she wasn't going anywhere near that situation.

"Ugh," his sister said, starting the car. "We have to pick up the twins. Ironically enough Kai, you're behaving less maturely than them."

XXX

Later that day, Bonnie snuck away from the Parker siblings to call Caroline back. She answered on the second ring.

"Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed. "How dare you leave town without coming to see me?"

"I'm sorry, it all happened so fast," Bonnie said, cringing. "How are you doing?"

"Not bad, but Elena is being totally insane. Damon's gone missing, and she won't tell me anything! She has to know where he is, she has to! Stefan would have –"

"Caroline," Bonnie said, softly and cutting her off. "Maybe it's better he's left."

"Bonnie Sheila Bennett!" Caroline shrieked. "Why would it be better that my hot older boyfriend left?"

"Because he isn't nice. You said so yourself. Remember, you told me that you think you let him hurt you?"

"I don't remember," Caroline sniffed.

Bonnie sighed and changed the subject. They spent the next half an hour talking about nothing important. Until finally, Bonnie hung up.

Afterwards she called her Grams and asked her to have Elijah look in on Caroline. Make sure she wasn't under some kind of creepy vampire compulsion, and if she was, if maybe he could do something. Sheila said she would talk to him.

Bonnie just hoped Elijah could do something about it.

XXX

Bonnie was starting to sense that the Parker household was heavily dominated by routine, already the next morning. Just like the day before, Jo got up early and got the twins ready for kindergarten. Bonnie got up and helped her, also chasing Annie and Katie, as well as Joey and Kyle out of bed. Kai was hovering, kind of helping, but mostly just skulking around watching as he cooked breakfast and put on a pot of coffee. Josette and Bonnie did everything else.

Joshua had already left for work.

"Kai, some help please," Bonnie said, when Lucas threw his cereal to the floor.

"Not my problem," Kai said, putting a cup of coffee down next to her. "You're a witch, twitch your nose and make the mess go away, Bunny."

"What? How?"

"Like this," Annie said, and murmured something.

Next thing, the floor was clean and the bowl was empty. Bonnie smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks Annie. Will you teach me that spell after school?"

"Sure," Annie said, beaming with pride.

She might only be six years old, but Bonnie was already impressed with her skills as a witch. She was pretty good at the basics.

"Where's your dad?" Bonnie asked, trying to feed Lucas a banana in slices, giving up on the cereal.

"Work," Kai said, eating eggs out of the frying pan.

"Yeah, I get that. But I mean when is he home? We did this last night too," Bonnie said frowning at him.

"Oh, I get it," Kai said smirking. "You think daddy dearest, the all-powerful Gemini coven leader can be bothered to raise his own brats. Well you're wrong."

"Hey!" Joey exclaimed.

"Kai, please it's too early," Jo grumbled.

"So you guys do this every day?" Bonnie gaped at him.

Bonnie was an only child, one who had been more or less raised entirely by her Grams because her dad was always away on business. When he wasn't away, he was distant. Nice, and she always had everything she needed, but distant. As neglected and ignored as she'd been by him, she'd been loved, and she'd never been shouldered with responsibilities that were beyond her age.

This was just - what was wrong with Joshua? Why was it up to Josette and Kai to parent? She figured they would have to help out, what with him being a single father and there being six kids besides the oldest twins. But this was absurd. She'd only been here two days and already she could tell Kai and Jo did most of the parenting. Well Jo did at least.

"Don't look so horrified, Bunny," Kai said, watching her with an expression she couldn't read. "I'm a much better cook than dad, you brats should be grateful Jo and I are the ones doing the cooking."

"Stop calling us brats!" Kyle growled.

"Did I say something that isn't true?" Kai asked, innocently, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet.

"Stop it," Bonnie said. "Both of you."

"Wow, someone's already in the role of mommy," Kai teased, gazing at her playfully.

Bonnie ignored the sudden warmth that ran through her.

"Seriously? You're the oldest one and you're acting the youngest," she said, pushing her hair out of her face. "Come on, Lucas are we going to go get dressed?" she asked, picking him up out of his high chair.

Bonnie carried him out to the entrance way and helped him get dressed for kindergarten. Jo came to help her and it took another twenty minutes before they managed to wrangle everyone into the car. Jo had a list of everything everyone needed and was checking with all the kids as they put their shoes on. Bonnie was impressed, she was on top of things.

Jo handed Liv to Kai and ordered him to carry her to the car. She took Lucas from Bonnie and smiled at her.

"Thanks, you are such a sweetheart helping out with the kids like this," she said.

"Yeah, no of course," Bonnie said. What else was she supposed to do? Sit back and watch while Jo struggled to do all the things Joshua should have been doing?

"You're much better help than Kai!" Jo said, raising her voice.

"Lay off, sissy," Kai said, he was wrestling Liv into her car seat, she did not want to go. "Or I won't beat up the next guy that breaks your heart in about a week."

"That doesn't mean you get a free pass at helping out," Jo said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, I play wingwoman with all the cheerleaders, and do I get as much as a 'thank you'? No, I don't."

Bonnie brushed Kai's hands aside and buckled Liv in easily, smiling at the little girl and chatting with her.

"There you go, honey," Bonnie told her, talking to her as she buckled her in.

"How did you do that?" Kai said, getting in the driver's seat as he completely ignored Jo that was complaining at him.

"She just wants to be talked to," Bonnie said, getting in next to Liv and tickling her stomach.

"Sheesh, between you and Jo, I can just relax," he smirked, winking at her.

"That's really not why I'm helping out, Kai," Bonnie said, glaring at him.

"No, you're helping out because you're a girl and I bet those little twins just bring out all those warm, fuzzy maternal feelings you come programmed with," Kai said, pulling out of the driveway.

"Could you be more of a sexist pig, right now?"

Jo slapped Kai upside the head. He grabbed her wrist and she screamed. As quickly as Kai grabbed Jo's wrist, he dropped it. Jo clutched his wrist where he'd done whatever he'd done to her.

"Are you alright, Jo?" Bonnie asked, scared.

"I'm fine, Bonnie. I'm fine, don't worry about it," Jo said, sounding out of breath.

"What did you do to her?" Bonnie asked him surprising even herself with the harshness in her voice.

Her courage faltered when she saw, the dark look giving was giving her in the mirror. He was seething with silent rage.

Dangerous, the thought flashed through her mind quickly.

Kai didn't answer her and Bonnie looked away, remaining silent.

XXX

Bonnie met Cassie in the hallway after she left Kai and Jo. They were walking into their math class when she saw someone she didn't think she would see here.

"Kol?" Bonnie said, he was coming out of the office.

"Hello darling," Kol said coming over.

"What are you doing here? Are you checking in again? Because I promise, I'm fine."

"Who's your friend?" Cassie said quietly to Bonnie, blushing in a way that told her the other girl had definitely noticed how hot Kol was.

"This is Kol Mikaelson," Bonnie said. "Kol, this is my friend, Cassie Blake."

"Charmed," Kol said.

Cassie practically swooned over his accent. Kol smirked at her. It was an arrogant smile that let Bonnie know, he'd noticed Cassie's reaction to him, and he was enjoying it. Bonnie rolled her eyes, and stuck her tongue out at him. Then she turned red when she realized, who she was teasing.

"Are you new as well, Kol?" Cassie asked.

"Actually, I am," Kol answered with a smile.

"What?" Bonnie gaped at him. "Would you excuse us for a minute, Cassie?"

Bonnie didn't wait for her friend to answer, she grabbed Kol's arm and started dragging him off with her. He came with her, seeming amused, and she knew the only reason she was able to drag him anywhere without using magic was because he was letting her.

They stopped when they were in a corner, hidden underneath the stairwell.

"What's going on, Kol?" Bonnie asked, feeling exasperated. "Why are you here? Why do you even want to go to high school? I thought you were like a thousand."

"I'm 1225, not like a thousand," Kol said, pulling his lips down and then up into a bright smile again. "As for the rest, I'm here because I feel like it."

"Why?" she demanded. "You're kind of freaking me out, so maybe you could just tell me the truth."

"I like you, Bon-Bon," he said, grinning. "I want to keep an eye on you. The Geminis are a tough lot. All the covens here are."

"So you're protecting me?" Bonnie asked, she was gaping at Kol. It was both rude and unflattering, but she seemed unable to stop herself.

"I am. Sheila agreed to it. She spoke with Elijah."

"Why do I need all this protecting?" she said, tugging on her hair, frustrated.

"No reason, I just wanted an excuse to come play with you," Kol said, taking her hand and pulling playfully on it.

"Don't," Bonnie said, tearing her hand free.

"As you like, darling," he said, watching her with a dark look.

"But why does Grams think this is necessary? Did Elijah threaten her? Or me?" Bonnie demanded, she couldn't help feeling like Kol wasn't telling her everything. She hated that feeling.

"She doesn't like Joshua Parker," Kol answered at least, tilting his head to the side and studying her.

"Okay, I don't really trust him myself," she nodded. "So what are you doing here? Like here at school, here."

"We've class together," he smiled mysteriously.

"Do we?" she said, feeling faint.

"I think perhaps we have every class together."

"No, we don't," she shook her head. "Kol please just go enroll in the senior class or something."

"I don't want to," he told her, tilting his head to the side and studying her.

"Please at least take some senior classes, you'll be bored and I don't want you crowding me," she said, shaking her head.

"Fine," he agreed. "I can see what I make of that Kai," he looked thoughtful.

"Do you think there's something off about him?" she asked, not quite sure why she was asking Kol or even really what she meant with 'off'.

"Define off," Kol said, flashing her a cheeky smile.

"Kol," Bonnie said, giving him an exasperated look.

"He's a Gemini warlock. He wouldn't be like the boys you went to school with. Doesn't mean he's a cold blooded killer."

"I suppose you're right. That was actually helpful, who would have thought?" she said, trying not to grimace.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear the surprise in your voice."

"Thank you," Bonnie said, meaning it. "So should we get to class?"

"Right, I might actually have to go to class," Kol said, grinning ruefully at her.

"Yeah, it's kind of the big thing about going to high school," she told him, trying not to laugh at him and failing.

Her laugh broadened his grin and Kol draped his arm across her shoulder casually as they walked. Bonnie glared at his hand, and he squeezed her shoulder with it, in a teasing way.

"After class you can come back to the office with me, see for yourself that I register for some senior year classes," he offered.

"Kol," Bonnie complained, tugging on his hand when they entered the classroom. She'd given up on trying to get him to remove it.

The classroom was nearly empty when they got there. Cassie was sitting in the same spot as yesterday toward the back of the room. She smiled at them, and Bonnie returned the smile. She went to take the spot behind Cassie like she did yesterday, and Kol steered her into the one next to Cassie, he took the one behind Bonnie. She shot him a dirty look, but she was relieved he hadn't tried to sit in front of her. Kol was so tall, she wouldn't have seen the board at all if he had.

 **Thank you so much for the kind reviews for the last two chapters! I've missed fanfic and the community so much. What do we think about how Kol has integrated himself into Bonnie's life in Portland? Speaking of, what do you think about Bonnie's interactions with the Parkers? Especially, Kai. Leave a review to let me know what you thought, the good and the bad. I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr. By the way, is anyone over how TVD ended things between Bonnie and Kai? Because I am not!**

 **Izzy**


	4. Chapter 4

During their lunch break, Bonnie came with Kol to the office. He changed half his schedule to join the senior class. Using compulsion to have the receptionist take care of it.

"You can say you got held back," Bonnie told him with a bright smile.

"Or I can say I'm advanced for a sixteen-year-old," Kol said, winking at her.

"I don't think anyone will believe that," she nudged him.

"Cheeky girl," he teased and put his arm around her shoulder again. "Not still frightened of me, are you, Bon?" he asked, when he felt how she tensed under his touch.

"Nah, I can take care of myself," she replied. "But just out of curiosity, should I be afraid you?"

"In the general sense that you should be afraid of any Original I suppose," he answered, sounding thoughtful. "But I don't mean you any harm, Bonnie. I hold witches in rather high esteem," he drew her closer and ruffled her hair playfully.

"Stop that," Bonnie complained, swatting his hand aside, making him laugh. "Rebekah says you're a lunatic, are you?" she asked. She'd noticed Kol didn't lie much, he evaded questions and flirted shamelessly, but she got the sense he didn't lie.

"I prefer to think it's because she's dull."

"I don't think that's as comforting as you think it is, Kol," she said, leading him to the cafeteria.

"Want to go for lunch somewhere else?" Kol asked. "If you want I'll take you to one of the best restaurants in town, darling," he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Nah, let's just try to be normal."

"So a witch and a vampire walk into a school cafeteria –"

"And I'm just going to stop that joke in its tracks," Bonnie said, looking up at him in exasperation.

"Bunny," Kai said, as they arrived at his table. "And Collin."

"Got a death wish?" Kol returned.

"Stop, both of you," Bonnie said, sitting down. "I so don't want to listen to the two of you bicker all through lunch."

"See you are in mom-mode," Kai said, giving her a look.

"Where's Jo?" Bonnie asked to change the subject.

"Bathroom," Kai said, tilting his head to the side. "So Kol, what are you doing here?"

"Going to school," Kol said, sizing him up.

Bonnie was relieved when Cassie joined them. She smiled brightly and started chatting happily and politely, drawing the subject onto topics without tension. When Kai didn't put his arm around her like he had done yesterday. Her big blue eyes taking in how Kol sat with his hand on Bonnie's lower back, body turned toward her. While Bonnie leaned back against him without being conscious of it, Cassie scooted closer to Kai until he did.

Kol nudged Bonnie and gave her a meaningful look. She shrugged and mouthed that she didn't know.

"Aren't you eating Kol?" Cassie asked. "I mean I know the cafeteria food is pretty gross, but it's got to be better than being hungry."

"Kol's a vampire, Cassie," Kai said, shooting Bonnie a mischievous look.

Bonnie who had been drinking, choked on her water. It lodged in her windpipe. Kol raised an eyebrow, but was more collected than her.

"Oh, it's alright, Bonnie," Cassie said softly. "I'm a witch. I thought you knew."

"Did I forget to mention that?" Kai said innocently.

Bonnie kicked him under the table and he grimaced at her.

"Who else?" Bonnie demanded, looking at Cassie for answers.

"Oh, you know my whole coven is here. I joined them only this fall. They fled here from New England," Cassie explained.

"Who else?" Bonnie said, repeating her question, wanting to know how many witches and warlocks were running around the school. And Cassie hadn't given her a real answer.

"My whole coven, there's thirteen of us," Cassie explained. "You've already met Nick and Diana as well Adam I believe."

"Okay," Bonnie nodded. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting that many witches."

Kol ran his hand up her back soothingly and she moved away from him, giving him an irritated look.

He was so handsy.

"It's fine," Cassie smiled brightly. "I'm given to understand Mystic Falls is under siege."

"Little bit yeah," Bonnie admitted.  
"What she means is, only in the literal sense, darling," Kol added smoothly. He winked at Bonnie, who rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm sorry that must be horrible," Cassie said sympathetically, sounding almost as if she understood. "I actually lived in New England for a week. Then we had to flee."

"They're here seeking protection from the Gemini coven," Kai told her.

"We've been assimilated into the coven," Cassie said.

"Correct me, if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that make the Gemini coven the biggest coven in North-America?" Kol inquired looking far too innocent as he posed the question.

"I think you're right, Kol," Kai said, pointing his plastic fork at him and feigning surprise.

Bonnie picked at her food and ignored the two of them. She wondered if they were going to kill each other after lunch or if they might actually become friends. Cassie looked between the two men and when her eyes met Bonnie's, she saw the other girl was thinking the same thing. They shared a moment of mutual understanding.

XXX

After school, Bonnie and Jo had cheerleading practice. She came with Jo to the training area and met the rest of the squad. She'd met some of the girls the other day, now she met the rest of them. They were nice girls, fun and bubbly. It made Bonnie feel almost like she was back in Mystic Falls.

Bonnie was supposed to observe for this practice, though she did warm up and stretch with the other girls. Once they'd done that she sat down on the grass in front to watch, the football practice taking place behind them.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kol and Kai sitting down at the bleachers. She gave them a dirty look because they were watching the practice like a couple of pervs.

Kol winked at her, and she rolled her eyes. Kai smiled a sneaky smile and waved in a mocking way.

"You can go sit with them, if you want," Jo said, smiling at her in a friendly way. "Though I get it if you'd rather stay here. That Kol guy gives me the creeps."

Bonnie tapped her ear and looked to where he was sitting with Kai. Kol smirked at her, and she knew he was listening in.

"But I think I'll stay here, not sure I'll hear everything from over there."

"Oh, I don't know," Celestia sighed. She was head cheerleader with Jo. Bonnie got that tingly feeling she was family, but she didn't think so. How could she be? "Kol's hot. But if he's friends with Kai, he's probably a jerk. No offence, Jo," she said quickly.

"None taken," Jo said, grinning.

"And you're right. He is a jerk," Bonnie said, grinning when she saw the fake wounded look Kol shot her, before smiling at her. Then he continued his conversation with Kai.

Bonnie didn't know what she liked less, Kai and Kol becoming friends or the idea of them being enemies. For some reason, she thought the two of them teaming up would mean trouble.

Somehow, seeing him here at school, she realized Kol might be a terrifying Original vampire, but he was just a boy. If he was hanging around because he got his kicks trying to scare her because he thought she was just a little girl in over her head with her witchy powers or whatever other nonsense he was thinking, she refused to give him the satisfaction of thinking he continued to frighten her.

Besides, he'd said he wasn't here to hurt her, and he seemed to have a half decent sense of humor.

XXX

"What are you really doing here, Kol?"

Kol took his eyes off the cheerleaders long enough to smirk at Kai, before returning his attention to them. Bonnie was sitting cross-legged in front of the group, watching. He didn't miss how she glanced over to them.

"Going to school."

"I meant what are you really doing here?" Kai said, fixing him with an intent look.

Kol noticed he had a hard time keeping his eyes from Bonnie, or Bunny as he called her. That made him snort with amusement. Kai he suspected, enjoyed pushing Bonnie's buttons. Liked testing that temper she kept under wraps, amusing to be sure, but he didn't think it would get him too far with Bonnie. Kol suspected he himself had made more progress already by playing it smart.

"I came to see Bonnie," Kol answered, turning his head to study Kai.

Kai snorted, and nodded. Maybe he understood why he was here.

"I thought so," he smirked.

"Does it bother you?"

"Nah," Kai shrugged.

He nodded.

Kol was telling the truth. Bonnie was the reason he was here. He'd originally come up to speak to Sheila about the dagger. He was supposed to wait another day in case she decided to prolong her stay, a sort of threat to ensure her continued cooperation. Kol knew the woman didn't like him or trust him, that the only reason she hadn't taken Bonnie and run for it was because she had some kind of history with Elijah.

Once he was actually in Portland and he saw Bonnie, he wanted to stay. Kol couldn't say for sure why he was drawn to her, but he was. He liked her, and it was like he told her, he likes pretty little things with sharp tongues. Bonnie was certainly that, and he could sense her power, once she learned how to control it. He supposed in the end, the real reason he decided to stay was because he sensed she was on edge with Kai.

Today at lunch he'd discovered just how right he was. She didn't like Kai. Something about him bothered her. Kol thought he knew what it was. He was dangerous, like his father and like the rest of the Gemini coven, Kai wasn't the sort of playmate Bonnie was used to from school. Though he was surprised Kai bothered her enough to ask his opinion.

Kol eavesdropped on the cheerleaders' conversation. He smirked when the girl, Celestia or something called him hot. He heard when Bonnie called him a jerk, faking insult and winking at her. Now that she knew he wasn't going to drain her dry at the slightest provocation she was feisty, he liked it.

"What are they saying?" Kai asked, watching Bonnie and looking amused.

"Celestia, I think her name is, she's saying we're attractive, but she's calling you a jerk," he said, with a laugh. "Bonnie called me a jerk."

"I don't think she likes either one of us very much," Kai answered, chuckling and keeping his eyes on Bonnie. "But I'm not surprised Celestia is calling me a jerk. We used to go out."

"Hardly surprising," Kol answered.

"What do vampires do for fun? Besides stalk high school high school cheerleaders?"

"Kill," he smirked.

"Sounds like fun," Kai agreed with a smile that might have chilled him if he had been human.

"You sound almost as if you mean that."

Kai smirked at him in answer. That told Kol he did mean it.

Kol didn't have many friends. Over the centuries he found most people outside of his family were dull, with the exception of beautiful women, witches in particular. Kai might be a friend, a rare exception.

"Maybe I do," Kai said at last.

"Hm," Kol hummed, studying him. "You're a bit off, for a human."

"Some would say, a lot off," Kai replied easily.

"Pleasant surprise. The longer I live, I confess, the duller I find humans."

"Huh, well take it from me, bloodsucker guy, you don't have to be ancient to find humans boring and predictable," Kai laughed. "Makes them easy to play with though."

"Is that what you're doing with the girl? The other witch, not the Bennett one, what's her name."

"Cassie?" Kai asked.

He nodded.

"Maybe," he said, looking truly evil. Kol was impressed that someone that pronounced the word maybe, as 'mebbe', could look evil.

"She's prey that one, but I suspect you already know as much."

"Everyone knows as much," he laughed.

Kol smirked. He was right, Kai was fun.

XXX

Bonnie was sitting in a circle of sorts with Katie and Annie. Jo was supposed to be helping, but instead she wound up taking care of Lucas because he wouldn't stop crying after Liv hit him. Kai was no help as usual, he was playing music on his phone, loud enough Bonnie could hear it and playing some game on there.

"I'm going to break the glass," Katie said, holding it up.

Bonnie thought it was a bit embarrassing to be learning a spell from a six and a nine-year-old, but she figured she had to start somewhere. Still, she would have felt better if Jo was the one teaching her or even Kai. Well no, maybe not Kai. He was arrogant.

And annoying.

Katie dropped the glass and it smashed. The sound made Lucas sob louder.

"Seriously?" Jo hissed, looking and sounding like a girl at her wits ends.

"Sorry," Annie said, grimacing.

"Maybe he wants to watch us do magic?" Katie said with a soft smile.

"That's a good idea," Bonnie said. "Got any feathers?"

Kai threw a pillow from the couch at her. Bonnie glared at him. She saw he'd taken out one of his earphones. His timing was perfect and of course, he couldn't just hand her the pillow.

"There you go, Bunny," he said, grinning.

"Would it kill you to be nice?" Bonnie demanded.

She opened the pillow up and scattered the feathers on the floor.

"It might," Kai said. "I'd rather be on the side of caution."

"Uh-huh," she responded, unimpressed with his attempt at humor and charm.

Bonnie held her hands up and felt the magic tingle as it coursed through her. Soon she had the feathers levitating around her. Katie and Annie were watching, smiling and enjoying the show. Kai was watching her with a look that could only be called hunger.

"Look Lukie," Jo was saying softly to the little boy. "Look Liv."

Liv looked over from where she was sitting on her rug, playing with toys. She laughed and pointed. Lucas stopped crying long enough to watch her. Soon his crying turned into soft little hiccups.

"That's better," Kai said. "Shut the kid up at last."

"Kai," Jo said softly, yet reprimanding.

Bonnie glared at him and made the feathers spin around the little circle of her, Annie and Katie. Liv was laughing happily and reaching for the feathers as she tottered over on chubby little legs.

"What's going on?" Kyle asked coming into the room with Joey. "Oh, hey magic. Cool," he said.

Katie and Annie joined in, floating the pieces of the broken glass. They caught the light and glinted like rainbows. They spun around in the circle in synch with the feathers. It was breath catching beautiful.

"I think Lucas is okay now," Jo said. "Thanks, Bon."

"So how about that clean-up spell?" Bonnie asked.

"Yeah okay," Katie nodded.

Jo sat down in the circle with them.

"I'm out," Kai said, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Jo asked, looking away from Lucas.

"I'm grabbing a beer with Kol," Kai answered, stopping in the doorway. "Yes, sissy?" he said, seeming to know Jo was going to try to stop him.

"You can't take the car. I need it to go for groceries. Kai you were supposed to help me tonight."

"Relax, I'm not taking the car," Kai said. "You wanna come, Bunny?"

"Let's see? A night with you _and_ Kol? I think I'd rather die of cholera," Bonnie said, giving him a nasty look.

"See, that's what I get for being nice," Kai said, glibly. "You can come too, sissy."

"Kai, we're supposed to watch the kids," Jo said, looking angry and helpless.

"We're always supposed to watch the brats," Kai rolled his eyes. "Dad's gone all night. I'm leaving."

"Leave the car," Jo said.

"For you, sissy?" Kai tilted his chin down and looked at her playfully. "Anything," he took the car keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her.

Jo caught them in the air.

"Thanks," she said. "Be careful."

"Don't worry," he winked and strode out.

"Should we be worried about them hanging out?" Jo said, fixing Bonnie with an intent stare.

"I think so," Bonnie admitted. "I don't know about Kai, but Kol is dangerous."

"This isn't good," Jo said, frowning. "I hope dad doesn't find out."

"Me too," Bonnie echoed quietly. "What did Kai do to your hand this morning?" she thought about how he'd grabbed Jo's wrist and she'd cried out.

"Nothing really bad, if that's what you're thinking," Jo said, rocking Lucas on her knee. "My brother was born without powers of his own. He can't generate magic, but he can take it from others. Siphoning is what it's called. It doesn't do any actual harm, but it does hurt."

"So that's what he was doing," Bonnie said, thinking it over.

As far as retribution for Jo slapping his head, it made sense. He got even, but he didn't hurt her in a really bad way, and he got some magic out of the deal. It was smart, and more than a little scary. The only problem was, there was something cold about it that bothered Bonnie.

XXX

Kol sat down at the bar with Kai, he ordered a scotch and Kai a beer. When the bartender tried to ask for ID, Kol compelled him to keep the drinks coming.

"What's an Original vampire doing stalking a high school cheerleader?" Kai asked, smirking as he sipped his beer.

"Why so interested in my relationship with Bonnie?" Kol asked, grinning.

"Pretty sure you know why."

"I do," Kol laughed. "Your father promised her to you, and she has no idea. Does she?"

"Not a clue," he chuckled. "It would be funny, except I think she might set us both on fire when she hears."

"She does seem the type," Kol agreed. "That's what I like about her."

"It's the witch thing then," Kai laughed.

"It is," Kol hummed, surprised by Kai's skills at observing. He wasn't stupid and he had darkness in him. It wasn't strange that Bonnie had sensed that, but she was young and new to her powers. She probably didn't even know for sure what she was picking up on or why he made her uneasy.

Eventually Kol grew tired of simply drinking and thought about chasing the women at the bar. There were a few, a couple attractive ones however, he was sure that was information Kai would love to run back to Bonnie with.

"Up for a bit of a massacre?" Kol asked, deadly serious.

"Why not?" Kai agreed, with a manic gleam that told Kol, he was not only off for a human. He was also deranged by human standards. By vampire ones, he was fun. In Kol's opinion there were far too many Mary Sue vampires out there.

"Fantastic," Kol said.

Kol reached over the bar, and slammed the bartender's head against the countertop. Kai was grabbing a knife from behind the bar.

XXX

The next morning Bonnie went to history class. She sat down next to Cassie, smiling and saying hello.

"Where's Kol?" Cassie asked pleasantly.

"I don't know. He and Kai were out pretty late. Kai rolled in hungover in the middle of the night. I don't imagine Kol's in any better shape," Bonnie complained, he'd woken her up around four am. Along with Olivia and Lucas. Both she and Jo had wound up with each their twin in their bed. She really wanted to kill Kai for that.

"Really?" Cassie said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, you know how guys are," Bonnie shrugged. If Kai got pissed at her for telling Cassie, that wasn't her problem. He shouldn't be hiding stuff from her. "Kol's like ancient, I bet he thinks he's got a new drinking buddy."

"I've told you, I'm not like ancient," Kol said, whispering in her ear.

Bonnie jumped in her seat.

"Don't do that!" she exclaimed.

"Why not? Besides you witches the room is empty, so I'm not risking exposure to the stupid humans," he rolled his eyes, and sat down behind her.

"Because it freaks me out," she told him.

Kol was sitting behind her, and he put his hand on her shoulder. His lips grazed her ear, and she froze. Ready to set him on fire if he tried to feed from her.

"You smell good when you're afraid, darling," he whispered in her ear. "That really only adds incentive to do it more."

"The fact that you can smell fear is like totally creepy," she whispered. Bonnie noticed Cassie was observing them with wide eyes, and obvious interest.

"Vampire," he whispered, nose grazing her throat.

"Don't bite me," Bonnie said quietly, feeling her whole body tense up.

"I'm not going to."

"Then please stop touching me," she said, closing her eyes, and resisting the urge to set him on fire.

"Stop that. You're in school," Alaric said, coming into the classroom.

"Sorry Mr. Saltzman," Bonnie said, blushing.

Kol didn't say anything at all.

"It's fine. Bonnie Bennett, right?"

Bonnie nodded.

"New students get a pass, but one warning is all you get or you'll wind up in detention," Alaric told them.

"It won't," Bonnie agreed quickly.

She turned around to glare at Kol, who simply smirked back, amused.

It wasn't long before the rest of the class trickled in.

Alaric started the lesson.

"By now, I'm sure most of you have heard of the massacre that occurred in town last night."

"What massacre?" Cassie said, looking alarmed.

"Well Cassie, and for those you who might not have heard or don't know the details. A local bar was hit last night by an unknown assailant or assailants. At this point in time, the police believe it was at least two people were involved in it. Because of the brutal nature of the murders. Twenty lives were lost, loved ones are still being contacted. Some students have lost loved ones or acquaintances. There will be a moment of silence after school today."

Bonnie felt faint, like she might pass out. Twenty lives taken. Brutal murders. At a local bar. Kol and Kai had gone out drinking last night. Kai had made sure no one saw him when he went to his room last night.

Oh God, what had Kol done?

She didn't dare turn around, but she could feel Kol's eyes on her. Watching her, studying her for a reaction, and when she felt his finger slide down her spine, she knew he could smell her fear. A shiver ran down her spine.

 **Guys seriously I love each and every review! They are such motivation to keep writing and are helpful to know what you all make of this fic and the development. What do we think of Kai and Kol going completely psycho? I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr, but it seems like a lot of people are going off it. Any idea where to move to?**

 **Izzy**


	5. Chapter 5

**So at this point, Kai and Kol are still dicks. Like they're just psychos and are toying with Bonnie. Kai might be doing more toying than Kol.**

Bonnie sat frozen in her seat after class.

"Bonnie, are you coming to English?" Cassie asked, smiling at her.

"Go on, I'll catch up," Bonnie said, waving her on ahead. She started to pack her bag. "Kol, stop staring, it's creepy."

"I'm behind you, darling. How do you know if I'm staring or not?" he protested.

"Because I can feel it," she grumbled.

Bonnie finished packing her bag, and she marched out of the classroom, ignoring the curious look Mr. Saltzman was giving her.

She didn't flinch when Kol caught up to her, and draped his arm across her shoulder. He did that. If they were together, he seemed to think he should be touching her. Normally she might have ignored it. Today though, her skin crawled at him touching her, and she shrugged his arm off her.

She went straight for the corner underneath the stairwell, knowing Kol would follow, and he did.

"What is it?" he asked, watching her with a dark and cold expression.

"Did you do it?"

"Do what?" he asked calmly.

"Kill those people," she whispered horrified.

"One teeny little massacre and you immediately think it was me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kol," she said, looking up at him in exasperation. She noticed that wasn't an answer.

"I'm a vampire, darling," he answered, staring at her levelly. "I need to feed."

"Did you need to kill twenty people?"

"In all fairness, I think I only killed fifteen," he said, looking thoughtful.

"Www-what?" she stuttered, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

"I wasn't alone you know."

"No," she breathed. "No, I don't believe you," she shook her head. "You know I think Kai is creepy, and you're just taking advantage of that. Because you're playing some game. Some sick and twisted game, and I don't want to play!"

Bonnie tried to leave. Kol grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him.

"I'm not lying, Bonnie."

"Let go," she whispered, shooting glances at the students milling past in the hallway. No one was paying any attention to them.

"As you wish, darling," Kol answered, watching her closely.

"You can't – you can't go around killing people like that, you just can't."

"Darling, I don't take orders from witches, in particular not sixteen-year-old newbie witches," Kol answered, tilting his head to the side, studying her. It was a predatory look that made a shiver run down her spine. "Your heart is racing. Are you afraid or angry?"

"Both, but you probably know that!" she snapped.

"I do," he agreed. "Clever little witch," he said with a smirk.

"But you can't. Kol you can't keep doing this," she said, using a softer voice this time.

"Why not? Because it's wrong?" the twist of his lips was amused.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Not good enough."

"Then what will make you stop?"

"I don't know," he said, smirk turning dark. "I might attempt to be on my best behavior, for you, darling."

"For me?" she gaped.

"For you, and a date."

"I don't want to go on a date with you. You just murdered twenty people in cold blood."

"Fifteen," he corrected.

"Kol," she complained, a shiver running down her spine. "You're lying."

"One date, no strings. You don't even have to be nice," he took her hand, twining their fingers together. "What do you say, darling?"

"And you won't kill anyone else? No lies and no manipulation or tricks?" she demanded, staring at him closely.

"I give you my word," he said.

"And you'll be a gentleman?" Bonnie said, deliberately using an old word, one she knew for sure he would understand, and wouldn't be able to twist and turn until it meant something else.

"Darling, if you want a gentleman, you're with the wrong Mikaelson brother," Kol said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. His breath tickled, and she shivered.

"Kol," she complained, pushing on him. "Am I safe with you?"

"Yes," he said clearly and without hesitation. "I don't kill pretty little witches. Especially not ones with sharp tongues."

"Fine, one date. One damned date, and then you stop killing people left right and center, and we never have to go out again."

"Deal," he said, eyes dancing with amusement.

"And we go see a movie. You know, minimize the amount of time I have to spend actually talking to you."

"Fine by me, darling," he said, a smile that was far too innocent on his lips for her to trust it.

"What are you looking at me like that for?"

"I hear the standard date at the movies is making out," he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Bonnie pushed at his chest, trying to make him let go. He didn't. He grinned at her, seeming to find her attempts to make him let go funny.

"Kol! I meant like I could sit in one row, and you in another," she demanded. "Now let go of me before I set you on fire! That should take a while to heal."

"Set me on fire, and I'll give you a good spanking, little witch," he said, smirking now.

"Kol!"

"Is there a problem here?" Mr. Saltzman said.

Bonnie turned her head and saw to her relief, that he was standing right behind them.

"I was just leaving," Bonnie said, squirming to get out of his hold.

Kol released her, and winked at her.

"Sorry Mr. Saltzman," Kol said, and somehow he managed to make even that sound mocking. "Now go away."

"Right, yes," the man said, leaving.

"Don't hurt him," Bonnie whispered. "Don't hurt me," she added, suddenly afraid.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, scowling at her. If it had been anyone else, she would have said he looked hurt.

"Then we need some ground rules. I get that you come from another time, and that historically speaking –"

"Let me stop you right there, Bonnie. I don't care to listen to your speech about how women's liberation has come about or the freeing of the slaves. I am well aware you are not property in either regards. You are a person, with free will and the right to the boundaries of your own body," he stated, watching her closely with an expression she couldn't read.

"So why didn't you let go of me?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. Her heart was pounding with fear, but rage was starting to build up in her at his arrogance and sense of entitlement.

"Because I'm not a gentleman, and I want to hold you. It does not mean that I don't respect you. If that's what you're on about."

"Kol!" she snapped, fast losing patience with him. "Then you can't do that. You have to let go, if I don't want to be touched, you let go of me. That's how you show respect."

"If that's what you want, darling," he said, his smirk had turned annoyed.

"And we're late for English class," Bonnie lied, already starting to walk away.

Kol didn't need vampire speed to keep up with her. He had annoyingly long legs. With them, he easily caught up and walked next to her. To her relief, he didn't reach out to her, didn't try to hold her anymore.

"Don't be cross, darling."

"You sound like ancient," she muttered. "And yes, I know you aren't like ancient. You're 1225."

She'd thought her mood would annoy Kol. Instead, he laughed.

"You know, you're actually quite attractive when you're angry," he said, sounding as if he was confiding something. "It's no wonder I fancy you, darling."

"Stop it!" she hissed at him.

The whole school had a feeling to it. A sadness, a fear and a lot of rage. It shimmered through the air, almost but not quite tangible. If she'd been more awake, less tired this morning she would have sensed it sooner, but she had been exhausted. She still was aware of it now, and this feeling was almost overwhelming.

"Do you sense it?" Bonnie whispered to Cassie when she sat down next to her in English.

Kol sat down behind her, obviously sulking because she was angry with him. And that she was not impressed with his attempts to flirt or seduce her.

"I do," Cassie said. "It's sickening. It's giving me a headache. What about you?"

"I think it's what's making me feel faint," Bonnie replied, chewing on her bottom lips.

"Witches are sensitive to negative energy," Kol leaned forward to tell him. "I could tell you how to fix it, but I don't want to," he said, petulantly, and looking at Bonnie as if he was furious with her.

"Don't be mad at me! You're the one that started this argument," Bonnie whispered back.

"No, I might be the reason you want to fight with me, but you're the one that started the argument, little witch."

Bonnie groaned. He had her there. She had demanded to talk to him, and wanted to argue about what he'd done. She should have known he would do things like this. Damon did. Kol was an Original vampire he'd probably done far worse over the centuries just for the hell of it. She shouldn't have expected anything else, and she shouldn't have thought he would care what she thought.

"What is with the two of you?" Cassie said, looking upset. "Kol please, tell us."

"Well since you asked so nicely," he smirked at Cassie. It was a predatory look that made every alarm bell Bonnie had go off. She felt a tingle of fear for her friend. "Witches are sensitive to negative energy –"

"And does this negative energy affect warlocks too?" Bonnie demanded.

"It does. Assuming they care about such things," Kol said, dismissively, making her blood boil. "If you want to escape it, you have to leave."

"I don't imagine town would be any better," Cassie said. "And I can't go home. My Grandmother is there."

"Well I'm a guest," Bonnie said.

"I offer my apartment," Kol said, watching Bonnie with those dark eyes of his and a smug smirk.

"Or we could go hang out at the back of the football field," Bonnie said. "I think that's private."

"We can cut out now," Cassie said, grabbing her bag. "Kol will you compel the teacher if he comes in before –"

"Of course," Kol said, cutting her off. He grabbed Bonnie's purse and took her arm, guiding her out of the room.

"Kol, don't," she said quietly. "I can sense it on you."

"Liar," he whispered. He cracked a knowing smile. "As for the rest, I find I just don't care, darling."

"Knock it off, or the date's off."

"Cancel and people die."

"You make me sick."

"You're a witch. You should enjoy the darker side of my nature. Haven't you ever been tempted by dark magic? Wanted to feel that power?"

Bonnie shook her head.

"You are young," he said. "But you'll learn."

Bonnie wished he would stop commenting on how young she is.

XXX

Kai was behind the football field. All the witches and warlocks in the coven were. Jo had tried to ask him about last night, but he'd brushed her concerns aside. Pinning the blame on Kol. She wouldn't dare challenge an Original vampire, and she would never tell Joshua anything. As for Bonnie, well he had the feeling Kol would handle her.

Nick and Adam were arguing. While Faye and Diana took turns giving each other sulky looks.

Meanwhile he saw he was right, Bonnie coming toward them. Kol was gripping her arm, and she looked like she was arguing with him. It would seem Kol was losing patience with Bonnie, and was trying to claim her. Kai smirked, he'd thought it would be at least a week for Kol's impulsive nature got the better of him, but apparently he'd been wrong. Cassie walked next to them, looking concerned.

Kai was approaching them, he was about to swoop in and play the hero by taking Bonnie from Kol, but Cassie threw her arms around his neck. He growled in annoyance because she was shaking and whispering that it was so awful. Did he sense all this negative energy?

"I do," Kai answered, thinking about wrapping his hands around her neck and wringing it. It was a tempting image. And he did sense it, difference was, he liked it. Liked knowing what they'd done had upset people, made them afraid.

"Kai," Kol said. "Perhaps you could talk some sense into Bonnie?"

"I will see sense when you stop lying," she hissed at him.

Kai more or less dumped Cassie on Adam, without looking. He came towards them, so they could speak quietly without the others hearing.

"What are you arguing about?"

"I only killed fifteen people, not all twenty," Kol said, an annoyed smirk on his lips.

Kai laughed. He'd known Bonnie wouldn't believe the vampire.

"It was all him, Bunny," Kai said, with an innocent smile.

Kol growled irritated, and threw Bonnie at him. Kai caught her easily, drawing her into his arms.

"Fine, go to him then darling if you think he's so much safer than me," Kol growled.

"Kai, let go," Bonnie said, pushing on him.

"No," he said, pulling her closer.

Bonnie had a great body, and she fit perfectly in his arms.

"Kai knock it off," she complained hitting his chest. "I am too tired to deal with the two of you being insane today."

"Come on, Bunny," Kai said, leading her over to the group.

He didn't miss the way; Cassie was watching them with big wide eyes. It made him tighten his grip on Bonnie. This was perfect. He had Bonnie literally in his arms, and she was angry with Kol. And it gave him the opportunity to stir up some trouble with the girls. Might even make Bonnie jealous. He bet she was hot as hell when she was jealous.

"So this is where all the witches have gone to," Kol said, lying down on his back in the grass, closing his eyes lazily.

"Who are you?" Faye said.

"Kol Mikaelson, and I take it by your tone, you're the hostile witch," he said, sounding amused.

Kai smirked. That was Faye. She was hot as hell, and she had a darkness that very nearly rivaled his own. But not quite. She wasn't his type though. Too sensual, too sure of herself. He liked a confident woman, but not enough so that he couldn't knock them off their game when it suited him.

Besides, he liked petite things. Faye was 5'7, with big voluptuous curves and unsettling honey colored eyes. Her friend, Deborah, the biker was the only other girl her height. She was athletic, fun too. Suzan was a tiny little blonde thing with an amazing rack. He'd planned to play with her next, once he was done with Cassie or maybe at the same time.

The guys, he mostly overlooked. There was Nick, Adam, the Henderson twins, Doug and Chris as well as a small wormy kid, Sean. Kai had taken to bullying him. He was easily frightened, it was fun.

Finally, there was Diana. She'd been their leader until they came here. Now they were tied to the Gemini coven and their lives to Joshua. Yet that didn't bother Diana. She was gracious and kind, almost pure. Kai found her exceedingly dull.

Judging by the way, Kol was eyeing the group, he'd come to the same conclusion about them as Kai had. Though he had to admit, the Henderson twins were fun. They liked to blow things up.

The only people Kai really liked here were Jo, and Kol, even Bunny he sort of liked. She was mean with him, tiny, and just the right amount of afraid of him. Jo, Kai tolerated because she gave him magic whenever he wanted it, and one day, she would make him coven leader.

And Kol, he was a homicidal maniac. In Kai's book, that made him a blast.

"What happened?" Adam said, trying and failing to take charge.

Kai rolled his eyes at him, and pulled Bonnie onto his lap. She hit hands, and wanted to get away, but then she stopped and sat down between his legs anyway, leaning back against him, even let him wrap his arms around her. Kai wondered at her sudden willingness. Then he caught the staring match going on between Bonnie and the Original.

Clever girl, she'd figured out the only thing keeping Kol at bay momentarily was him. Kai suspected it was only because they'd agreed last night not to come to blows over Bonnie. Instead, they were both going to pursue her. Let her run to whichever psycho she preferred, but no one else was to touch her.

No one.

He noticed the way Jo was watching them. She didn't look pleased. Kai winked at her.

"Someone killed a bunch of people," Kol said, in a lazy drawl. He didn't take his eyes off Bonnie.

"Doesn't anyone suspect the vampire?" Deborah demanded.

"No," Bonnie said quickly, jumping to Kol's defense. Kol smirked and winked at her.

Kai thought Bonnie was defending Kol not out of any loyalty to Kol, but because her Grams had allied herself with the Originals. Who knew what it meant for her, if Bonnie let it slip that Kol was out massacring people, pissing off the local witches? Not to mention, what would happen to the Geminis if they tried to go up against Kol. Kai had heard Originals couldn't be killed. He didn't believe it, but that didn't mean he knew how.

"Wasn't him," Kai agreed, nudging Bonnie's knee playfully with his own. His back was against the big oak tree, it let Bonnie lean against him comfortable. Or it would have, if he couldn't feel the tension coursing through her body.

"And we're just supposed to believe that?" Faye said. "No offense, Kol."

"None taken," the vampire said arrogantly. "Alright, you have two choices. You can believe I'm innocent or not. The first one, you drop the matter now. The second one well, what are you going to do if I did do it?"

The group fell silent, and Kai heard Bonnie's frustrated sigh.

"Originals can't be killed. I'm beginning to think some of you don't know your history," Kai said, deciding to fill the silence.

"So nothing then?" Kol said.

"I'd say so," Kai answered. "Go on then, have at it or don't. What do we care?"

"We care!" Diana said, voice shrill with indignity.

"You can't be killing in Gemini territory, Kol," Jo said. "We can't dictate what you do outside of our bounds, but you can't do it here."

"Now that almost sounded like dad, sissy," Kai said. "Now say, coven before family."

"Kai shut up," Jo rolled her eyes at him.

Cassie had turned to look at him when he spoke. She didn't look like she was listening to the conversation though. More like she was staring at Bonnie in his arms. This was fun.

"If you kill on Gemini land or hurt any of my friends in Mystic falls, I'm calling Elijah," Bonnie said, speaking at last. "Your family can deal with you."

"Best threat of the day, goes to the little witch," Kol said, laughing. "Rest assured, I've no interest in terrorizing your dull little town. Either of them. Besides, even if I did. Don't you think Elijah and Rebekah are well aware of that habit?"

"Maybe, but you have a deal with Grams."

"I do, but since I didn't do it, the point is moot," Kol said, lying back down. "Want to come here, darling," he said, fingers waving lazily for Bonnie.

"No," she shook her head.

"Very well, stay there with Kai if you must," Kol said, still sounding cocky and arrogant.

Kai grinned. He could feel Bonnie shiver in his arms. Yesterday she'd been skittish of him, running to Kol. Today, she was willing to take him over Kol. Toying with Bonnie Bennett was promising to be a good game.

XXX

Bonnie shivered, and rested against Kai. She closed her eyes, and tried to take a few deep breaths. It didn't help that Kai was stroking her neck with his fingertips. It was a bit unsettling, but not nearly as unsettling as Kol. Nothing was as unsettling as Kol today.

Cassie was watching them. She looked sad, and confused, and hurt. Not to mention, Bonnie thought she saw the beginning sparks of jealousy in her eyes. So not only did she have to deal with Kol being crazy, she was going to have to have a girl talk with Cassie. Somehow, she didn't think anything she said would help.

The only thing that might help was if she got out of Kai's lap, but she didn't want to. Kol had backed off when Kai pulled her into his arms. It was the first time she'd managed to get him to successfully let up for more than two seconds. She wasn't about to spoil it for herself. If she could keep him at a distance, even if it was just temporary, she was going to take that break. No matter the consequences.

Besides, Cassie should be pissed at Kai. He was the one that was supposed to be dating her. He was the one that had gone to Bonnie, and taken her in his arms, and he was the one that had pulled her between his legs. He was also the one that was turning a harmless cuddle into something more by touching her throat the way he was. His fixation on it was almost vampire like.

"Do you think anyone will see us out here?" Jo asked.

Bonnie remembered she wanted to be a doctor. She should be worried about absences and grades. She on the other hadn't, didn't have ambitions like that, and didn't care as long as she got a break from the bad vibes at school.

"Probably not," Kai answered lazily.

"And if they do, Kol can compel them to go away, and forget. Can't you Kol?" Bonnie said, in a falsely sweet voice.

"One of the many perks of being a vampire, little witch," he answered sounding like he couldn't care less about the tone of voice she was using.

Bonnie was fuming, and she was afraid. Kol had seriously freaked her out today, and she didn't know what to do about him. If anything. Maybe she should just run in the opposite direction, while he did whatever creepy vampires stuff he did. Her stomach gave a lurch at that thought. Her consciences couldn't stand it. Besides, she could make it through one date with the arrogant bloodsucker.

"You know, I can't believe they are discontinuing Twinkies," the blonde one, Suzan was saying as she was stuffing a Twinkie in her mouth.

"Of course you can't," Deborah snorted. "Those things are like ninety percent twinkies," she said gesturing at Suzan's chest.

The blonde grinned and tilted her head to the said in a gesture that said "maybe."

Bonnie felt Kai's other arm, the one that wasn't stroking her throat, wrap around her stomach, bringing her closer. She felt his warmth and his hard body. Heat built up in her, as she snuggled closer. Kai might be a jerk, but this wasn't so bad. She could do with more snuggling with him. Then she saw the look on Cassie's face, and she felt guilty. Not guilty enough to move, but guilty.

"Cassie's staring," Bonnie whispered in his ear, turning around. "You might want to let go before your girlfriend kills us both."

"Not my girlfriend," he whispered back, laughing.

She saw, Kol glance over and smirk. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Oh," she said, at least she wasn't stealing Cassie's boyfriend, if nothing else.

Kol's phone rang, and she watched as he answered it.

"It's Elijah. He wants to talk to you, Bonnie," Kol said, holding the phone out to her.

"What about?" Bonnie asked, getting up to go take it.

"Didn't say," Kol answered, throwing his other arm over his face.

Bonnie took the phone from him, and went at a distance from the group.

"Hello Elijah, is Grams alright?" she asked, once she'd put a few feet between her and the others.

"She's well," Elijah said. "I'm actually calling about Caroline Forbes."

"Is she alright?"

"She's under compulsion like you suspected. I compelled her to forget about Damon, and to say she doesn't want to talk about him if anyone asks."

"Thank you," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "So, so much."

"It was my pleasure. Your grandmother is turning out to be a valuable alley. She's made progress in the dagger research."

"That's good news, isn't it?"

"It is," Elijah confirmed. "How are you? I trust my brother is behaving?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Um, he sort of killed twenty people last night," Bonnie whispered, cringing, when she felt Kol flash behind her, and grab her around the waist, pulling her to him.

"It was fifteen," he said, and she could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"But he hasn't harmed you?"

"No," Bonnie said, and thought about telling him about how Kol blackmailed her into a date, but changed her mind.

"Or made any attempts on the Geminis?"

"No," she admitted in a surly tone of voice.

"Of course, I haven't, brother. I don't want to make enemies out of the largest coven in North-America. Especially not as we may need them against Klaus," Kol said, and Bonnie turned around in his arms to see he was rolling his eyes again.

"Very well. What about the teachers or your school mates?" Elijah asked, and Bonnie realized he and Kol could hear each other just fine.

Stupid vampire hearing.

"No, he hasn't touched them. As far as I know, right Kol?"

"That's right, darling," Kol said, stroking her hip.

"Then that's about as well behaved as Kol gets," Elijah told her.

"Seriously?" Bonnie said, mouth popping open. If this was Kol on his best behavior, she never wanted to see him at his worst.

"Seriously," Elijah said. "He isn't going to hurt you. He's given his word. Being among the Geminis, you may find you'll want an outside friend later on."

"I guess," she muttered, not sure what he meant. "But can you tell him to stop touching me all of the time?"  
"Kol," Elijah growled.

"What can I say brother, she's a pretty little thing," Kol answered, arrogantly.

"That doesn't mean you get to upset her or touch her against her will," Elijah answered calmly.

"I'll attempt to behave," Kol agreed.

He took the phone back from Bonnie and hung up.

Bonnie shrugged out of his grip, and went back to the group. She noticed Cassie had sat down next to Kai, and was talking to him quietly. He just kept shaking his head at her.

Kai tried to reach for her, but Bonnie side-stepped him, and sat down next to Jo.

"Is your Grams okay?" Jo asked quietly, tugging on the grass.

"She's fine," Bonnie said. "Elijah was calling about a friend of mine. A vampire has been messing with her head. He helped her out."

"Elijah is the noble brother," Kol remarked.

Much to Bonnie's annoyance, he sat down behind her, and drew her into his lap just like Kai had done.

"Kol, what did Elijah just say?" Bonnie hissed at him, hitting his chest.  
"I don't recall," Kol whispered in her ear. "Should have hid behind Kai when you had the chance," he nipped at her earlobe.

"I'm noticing that," she complained.

Jo looked worried. Her big blue eyes were wide, and she kept looking between Kai and Kol with a cold, assessing stare. Bonnie decided the two of them were going to have a private girl talk.

 **Thank you so much for the continued support for this fic! I absolutely love each and every single review, follow and fave! Thank you for taking the time to re-read this fic and continue to support me. I'm awed by the amount of support I have received since returning. My other Kennett fic Timeless should be up with a new chapter before Christmas and I am working on a new bonkai fic. Let me know what you thought about this chapter. I would love to hear what you think about bonnie and kol and kai and their interactions.**

 **Izzy**


	6. Chapter 6

***Disclaimer because it's been a while, but anyhow I don't own TVD or the secret circle. I'm just borrowing the characters***

Bonnie closed the door behind her, when she went to go to bed that night. Jo was already in bed, reading. Joshua had been home tonight, which meant she had some down time because he actually put the twins to bed. That was the only parenting Bonnie had ever seen him do, and she wasn't impressed.

"Is he going out with Kai again?" Bonnie asked, sitting down on her bed.

"Dad?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Probably," Jo said, and she looked anxious. "It's – please don't worry about it, alright, Bonnie?"

"Worry about what? What are they doing?"

"Do you know how us Geminis get our coven leaders?"

"Election?" Bonnie suggested, even as she had the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that it was nothing so safe or mundane.

Civilized, was the word her Grams would have used to describe it.

"No, I wish," Jo laughed. "There's always a set of twins born. On our twenty-second birthday, we merge. The twin who's the strongest, absorbs the other one's magic. Except if you take all of a witch's or warlock's magic like that, they die."

"Are you serious? That's horrible," Bonnie exclaimed.

That meant that if Kai wanted to, he could kill another witch with one touch. It was a thought that sent a shiver down her spine. Suddenly, she wasn't sure she wanted him touching her anymore than she did Kol.

He had only ever siphoned someone in front of her once, but from Bonnie's point of view, Jo hadn't been able to escape his grip. What would have happened if he hadn't decided to let go? Or worse yet, decided he wanted to kill someone?

"Yeah, it's not exactly fun, but we grow up with it as being normal. Thing is, dad's convinced Kai will win because he can siphon. He calls Kai an abomination, and a psycho. A madman."

"So what if Kai is a jerk? I don't want to be rude about your dad, but he isn't exactly the world's nicest guy himself."

"That's because he isn't. And whatever is wrong with Kai, it's dad's fault. He's been horrible with him since we were like four, maybe five. Whenever our powers manifested and he realized Kai wasn't normal."

"Does he hit Kai?"

"I think he's trying to force magic from Kai or – or make him normal somehow. I don't know what they do. I've tried to interfere, but they both throw me out," she put her face in her hands, and sighed.

"When you say normal, you don't just mean magic wise, do you?"

"That, and make him care. Kai's got this thing going where he pretends not to care. It's easier, I think. But he isn't evil. And he only does it because he's been mistreated. The rest of us might be ignored and have to be adults, but dad's cruel to Kai."

"Poor Kai," Bonnie whispered, meaning it.

"So I know he's trying to get in your pants or whatever, but please don't be mean with him, even if you do blow him off. That's actually why I'm telling you this. No matter what he does, please don't be mean to him."

"Being mean isn't working anyway. I think he kind of likes it," Bonnie muttered, cheeks heating up with embarrassment. "Maybe I could try being really nice or something? Or if I'm lucky, Cassie will manage to get him to pay attention to her again."

"I doubt it," Jo said, snorting. "Kai's got this routine or whatever you want to call it. He's the perfect gentleman until he's bored with a girl, then she's gone. He does it all the time, yet the girls at school don't seem to realize he has a pattern."

"It's easy not to see something if you don't want to," Bonnie said, twisting her hands together. "But he isn't being a perfect gentleman with Cassie. You saw what happened today."

"Yeah, I did. He's not done with her yet at least not according to his usual games," Jo rolled her eyes. "He's my twin, and I love him, but sometimes, I want to kill him."

Bonnie laughed. "I'll help."

"You're not interested?"

"Kai doesn't seem like my type. To be honest, I get this vibe from him, I can't put my finger on it."

Jo went silent, and it might have been Bonnie's imagination, but she thought the other girl suddenly looked paler than usual.

"But it's whatever," Bonnie said waving it aside. "About earlier, I was just sitting there because Kai seems to keep Kol at bay. It's weird, but I think they're friends."

"They are," Jo said. "Kai told me Kol did all the killing."

"But they're still friends?" Bonnie prodded, with an unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I guess so, it seems like it anyway," Jo shrugged. "I don't know, Bon. It's all kind of weird."

"But doesn't it bother him? I wasn't even there, and I feel like my skin is crawling every time Kol touches me."

"Sure, it does. But we weren't raised unaware of what we are. Kai and I, we have spent years attending council meetings –" seeing Bonnie's confusion she explained. "Among our coven and other covens too sometimes. Business is dealt with, and sometimes it's dealt with violently. Probably not too different from growing up in like a royal court or something."

"Violence, backstabbing and plotting?"

"Exactly," Jo said, almost but not quite smiling. "You would know more about it too if you Bennetts weren't such solitary witches."

"I don't know. You're not exactly making me want a coven."

"Oh, sure it can be kind of creepy and power hungry, but it's also really useful. Bennetts come into their powers in their adolescence, and that's cool. We don't really start to gain control until then anyway, but if you had been raised among witches, you would know a lot more basic spells."

"I can learn," Bonnie shrugged. "Magic is more interesting than school anyway, but at least we can all avoid class until the bad energy calms down with Kol compelling the absence from the school administrators."

"Since he's the one that murdered all those people, it's the least he can do," Jo answered, still looking sad. "But school isn't so bad. At least not normally."

"Maybe not, but it's never really been my thing. Hell, I don't even know what I want to do when I'm done. Not like you, you're going to be a doctor."

"Assuming I survive the merge," Jo answered, smiling wistfully.

"You can take him," Bonnie joked, then grimaced when she realized it wasn't really funny. "Sorry, never mind that. He's your brother."

"And I don't want him to die, any more than I want to."

"There has to be some way to do the merge without one of you dying," Bonnie said, thoughtfully.

"Maybe, if there was a way for Kai to use his siphoning – no, wait that would kill me too," Jo said, but she looked like she was thinking about it, considering the possibility. "Kai's stronger you know."

"Are you sure? Because you're pretty badass."

"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes. "But yeah, I'm sure. I've always known. Kai was the brave one, jumping off cliffs to dive into the water. Defending me, all sorts of things. He even mastered how to siphon before I'd figured out how to levitate a feather, and let me tell you, I'm a quick study."

"But what about using actual magic, you have to be better at that than him."

"I'm not," Jo answered. "I'm really good at it, not to brag, but Kai is better. So you see, I know the merge will kill me. I guess I don't really mind though, because maybe then Kai will have a chance."

"It's not fair. The two of you, you shouldn't have to kill your twin or die. It's wrong."

"Maybe, but I don't see a way around it," Jo shrugged. "But just for fun, maybe we can research that idea of yours?"

"I'm in," Bonnie said, smiling brightly.

"Just don't tell dad, okay?"

"Of course not."

Bonnie was right. There was something wrong with Joshua, and whatever was wrong with Kai, that was his fault too. It made a shiver run down her spine.

"Thanks, Bonnie. I was right, it is nice to have another girl in the house my own age," Jo said, smiling brightly at her.

"Speaking of which, I kind of have a problem that is both girl stuff, and vampire stuff," Bonnie told her, chewing on her bottom lip. She told her about Kol's threat, and how he wanted to take her on a date on Friday.

"He has got to be fucking kidding me," Jo exclaimed when she was done. "Here's what we'll do, Bonnie. You are going to wear your least sexy outfit, like totally buttoned up, and if he tries anything, you are going to be so good at giving aneurisms, you'll bring him to his knees."

"Sounds like a plan," Bonnie said, exhaling in relief.

"And you can wear a turtleneck, I've noticed how sometimes, Kol stares at your neck when you're not looking."

"Well that's disturbing," she mumbled.

XXX

Bonnie tracked Cassie down before history class at her locker. Cassie was violently shoving all her books inside.

"Can we talk about yesterday?" Bonnie asked her in a quiet voice.

"It's fine. Kai doesn't like me," Cassie muttered slamming her locker door shut. "It's not like I was crazy about him or anything, but why does he have to like you?" Bonnie was almost insulted until she continued. "We're friends. I like you, and he has to go and do this to me?"

"We're friends?" Bonnie asked, smiling softly.

"Well yeah, aren't we?" Cassie said, looking startled and unsure.

"Yeah, I guess we are," Bonnie said, beaming. She liked Cassie and thought of her as a friend, she just didn't know for sure until know that she thought of her as a friend too. "But don't worry about it. I don't like Kai. I was just trying to keep Kol's hands off me for like two seconds," she shook her head.

"That darling is insulting, and rather hurtful as we have a date on Friday," Kol said, joining them with Kai.

"Not to mention, just bad for my ego," Kai told her. He winked at her.

"Come on, Cassie," Bonnie said, hooking her arm through the other girl's. She started dragging her off toward the field behind the football field. "This place still gives me the creeps."

"Same," Cassie said, ignoring the boys. "They're following us. I can sense it."

"Me too," she muttered. "Sadly, I don't think we're going to get rid of them that easily. Go away, Kol."

He didn't answer, but she could tell he was watching her because a shiver ran down her spine.

This time when they got out behind the football field, Bonnie went straight to Kai, who was leaning against the tree, and sat down between his legs.

"Hey, Bunny," he whispered in her ear, nose running along her cheek. "Hiding from Kol?"

She nodded when she was sure Kol wasn't looking. The conversation with Jo last night ran through her mind. If Kai wanted to, he could take her magic. She had to take a deep breath not to get up and run away.

"Lucky me," he said, and there was a hint of something manic in his voice.

"Yeah, well don't get any ideas," she warned him.

"Oh, I've already got ideas, Bunny," Kai said, laughing.

XXX

The rest of the week passed in a bit of a blur for Bonnie. She helped Jo out with the kids when they weren't in school. The Parker kids, minus Kai helped her practice aneurisms, she was getting pretty good at it, so she thought. She wasn't worried about setting Kol on fire if she needed to. That was the first thing she'd mastered.

The rest of the school week, the Gemini coven including Bonnie, and Kol spent hiding outside the school building. The negative energy was still around, and no one felt comfortable around it. Except disturbingly enough to Bonnie, Kol and Kai didn't seem bothered.

Whenever they were out back, Bonnie sat with Kai. He was the only one that kept Kol away. If she tried the same thing with one of the other boys, Kol threatened them or Kai shoved them aside, and took their place. A part of Bonnie would really like to find out what was up with that, and the other part of her, hoped she never found out.

Friday night was there before she knew it.

Jo had helped Bonnie pick out a dark blue turtleneck and black jeans. She wore flat shoes, the kind she could run in, if she needed to.

"I know Elijah said he isn't going to hurt me, but he creeps me out," Bonnie confessed to her.

"He killed twenty people for fun, I'd be nervous myself. You know us Geminis, we don't like other supernatural creatures much."

"What like vampires?"

"Well yeah, vampires and werewolves, and all the other things out there. Like ghosts."

"Are you telling me werewolves are real?" Bonnie said, freezing.

"Grams didn't really get much of a chance to tell you things before she packed you off to live with us, huh?"

"I'm beginning to think even less than I thought. I've heard lots about my family, and how we have to be careful not to risk exposure. The rest of it? Well we hadn't gotten to that yet. Mostly, she was trying to help me not set things on fire by accident."

"It's not easy, is it?" Jo asked. "By the way, I wouldn't let dad know you're going out with Kol. He won't take it well."

"I won't. You keep a lot of secrets from your dad, don't you?"

"Who doesn't?"

"True," Bonnie said, smiling. "Okay, I'm ready to go. Now let's hope he gets distracted on his way here, and forgets about this."

"Like that'll happen," she rolled her blue eyes.

Bonnie and Jo went downstairs to the living room. They needed to get back. Jo had left the twins with Kyle, he was only fourteen, and he didn't exactly have the greatest attention span. Outside of video games.

"Thank God," Kyle said when he saw them coming down the stairs. He was holding Liv, and she was crying.

"Hey honey, what's wrong?" Jo said, taking Liv from him.

"Lucas hit her," Kyle rolled his eyes. "Not even hard, but I can't get her to stop crying."

"Bunny, you changed, where are you going?" Kai said, grinning at her from the couch. He was playing with a Gameboy, and somehow he managed to look kind of evil villain sexy while playing the stupid thing with his feet on the coffee table.

"Why aren't you helping Kyle with the babies?" Bonnie said, kicking his feet off the coffee table.

"Because I don't care," Kai said, he grabbed her arm, and pulled her down next to him. Bonnie hit his chest, and moved away. "Where are you going?"

"Haven't you heard? I've got a date with Kol," she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Really?" he said, feigning surprise. "Thought his scary vampire side got your panties all in a bunch. Thought you would have cancelled on him. Isn't that why you have been so friendly?" he asked, drawing her to him.

"Ugh," Bonnie said, hitting his chest, and pulling away. "Kol isn't here now. So leave me alone," she scooted over until she was on the other side of the couch. Kai was laughing at her, she ignored him.

"If he's so horrible, why haven't you cancelled?" Kai asked, tilting his chin down and giving her a fake innocent look.

"Like you don't know. The two of you are like totally BFF's so why don't you ask Kol?"

"Right, the whole he'll try not to kill people if you go on one date with him thing," he laughed again. "Hasn't anyone ever told you, if you don't look out for yourself, you'll wind up dead, Bunny?"

"I am looking out for me! It's better for everyone if Kol isn't all homicidal -"

"Everyone out," Jo said, taking Kyle and the twins with her.

"I want to hear," Kyle complained, Jo hit the back of his head, and he came along.

"Let's go," Jo said.

"It's not better for everyone. It's better for the poor boring humans. They're so defenseless, it's pathetic. What do you care if Kol kills a few of them?"

"It's wrong, he can't just go around killing people, Kai," Bonnie said. "I know you were there, and I know you couldn't have stopped him. So if this whole I don't give a shit bad boy thing is from guilt, you can drop it. I'm not impressed."

"I don't feel guilty. I find I actually don't care one way or the other," Kai answered, with an evil smirk.

"Really? You don't care?" Bonnie demanded.

"Nope, caring gets you killed. Ask Kol about your Bennett history."

"Why don't you tell me?"

Bonnie had to take a deep breath to calm herself. Kol had already warned her about that and there was a good chance Kai knew. If he had something to say about her family, he could come right out and say it.

"Because I don't feel like retelling the tales of my family's grimoires. You Bennetts are always protecting someone, and getting yourselves killed. Nasty habit really," he mocked.

Kai grabbed her foot, and started pinching her toes. Bonnie shrieked and kicked him.

"Kai stop it!" Bonnie exclaimed. "God, you're like five," she said, managing to pull it back, out of his reach.

"No fun," Kai said, turning his lips down and pouting.

"Don't pout. It provokes wrinkles," Bonnie told him, rolling her eyes.

The doorbell rang. Bonnie sighed in dread and relief because it meant she got to escape Kai. Even if the person on the other side of the door was probably a lot worse.

"Here's your gallant suitor now," Kai smirked.

"Here's to hoping I don't have to set him on fire," Bonnie said, crossing her fingers.

Kai winked at her.

"He can hear you, Bunny," he tilted his head to the side, studying her. His blue eyes were cold, like ice and there was something disturbing about the look he was giving her. Like she was prey or something.

"Good, then he knows I might actually set him on fire if he pisses me off," Bonnie said, happily as she went to the door.

Bonnie threw the door open. She was startled because Kol was standing closer than she thought he would when he couldn't get in. His head was tilted down, and he was looking straight at her with his black unreadable eyes.

"Ready to go, darling?" Kol asked, his eyes turned assessing as he looked her up and down, then he broke into a smirk. "Nice turtleneck."

"Just sending a message," Bonnie muttered even as she could feel her cheeks heating up.

She pushed past him and started walking to his car. Kol caught up and put his hand on her lower back. Bonnie hadn't actually seen Kol's car before tonight. Whenever she saw him he was already at school, and she never noticed it much. However, now she couldn't help noticing it. It was a flashy red sport car. She knew nothing about cars, and had no idea what kind it was. It was the car of someone that liked to show off though, she knew that much.

"Subtle," she eyed him with her best unimpressed look.

Kol snorted, almost but not quite laughing.

"I like Ferraris, cars are so much faster now than they used to be. Almost as fast as me," Kol told her, with a mischievous smirk.

"Fascinating."

She was about to open the door herself, but Kol beat her to it. He held it open for her, and helped her get in with his hand on her lower back, acting like a gentleman. Bonnie did not like that. She didn't like it when Kol was nice or did old fashioned gentleman things because she didn't trust that behavior.

Kol vampire ran to the other side, and got in. He turned the key in the ignition, and unlike Bonnie he didn't bother buckling up. Made sense. It wasn't like a car crash could kill him anyway.

"Kol, just for the record, don't drive like a maniac. You won't die, but I can," she said, chewing on her bottom lip, worried about what Kol considered safe driving when he sped out of the Parkers' driveway.

"Don't fret, darling. I've been driving for about ninety years now," he flashed her a wicked smile.

"Oh," she said, trying to process how long that really was. Ninety years was longer than the average person's life span, she realized after a second. "And in all that time, how many accidents have you been in?"

"Bonnie, if you stop fussing about my driving, I'll let you drive on the way home," he said, cracking a smile.

"Really?" she asked, excited in spite of herself.

She had a practical little Toyota hybrid back home in Mystic Falls, but she would love to drive Kol's sports car. Matt would be so totally jealous! Except she couldn't tell him. That would be rubbing it in. Matt struggled to make ends meet; she couldn't tell him about driving some absurdly expensive car.

"Really," Kol answered, looking at her in a way that could almost be called gentle or fond.

"Where are we going?" she said, to change the subject.

"There's a fair in town or a carnival. Whatever humans call them."

"So you're not coming with your new BFF Kai and his siblings tomorrow?"

Bonnie was actually looking forward to the carnival. Not that she was going to admit that to Kol.

"What's a BFF?" Kol said, looking at her in confusion.

"OMG, you don't know what that means? You are like so totally old!" she exclaimed, and started giggling.

"I don't know what OMG means either. Why does your generation insist on speaking in acronyms? Language was developed to be rich and expressive for a reason, and you lot seem determined to destroy it."

"So old," Bonnie repeated, forgetting for the time being who Kol was.

"Stop calling me old," he said, but he was chuckling softly.

"Okay so BFF is best friend forever, and I was joking. You and Kai are like weirdly good friends."

"Are not. I simply find he is less dull than most humans."

"OMG means oh my God," she added, smiling. "Less dull than most humans? I don't know how you even notice. All he ever does is say rude stuff, and play video games. Sometimes, I think Kai doesn't even notice he has other siblings than Jo."

"He might not," Kol agreed, and there was a twist to his lips that Bonnie didn't like. Something dark about it, like he knew something she didn't. "Here we are, little witch," he said, parking the car.

"Great," Bonnie said, getting out of the car.  
Or tried to. She went to open the door only to find Kol had beat her to it, using his vampire speed.

"You're welcome," Kol said in response to her angry look.

"I can open my own doors, and quit vampire running," Bonnie said, gesturing angrily between him and the door. "It freaks me out!"

"Why?" Kol asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"I don't know. Because I can't keep track of where you are," Bonnie murmured. "Can we just get this date over with?"

"Words like that are the way to any man's heart," Kol asked, as they started walking toward the concession stand.

"Kol, it's not like your ego needs to be built up. I thought maybe I'd try deflating that head of yours."

"How's that going so far?" Kol asked, laughing at her.

"You tell me."

He laughed.

Kol paid for their tickets to the carnival, and bought them tokens for the rides. Bonnie pretended not to notice. He was totally old, and he'd more or less forced her into this stupid date. She wasn't about to pay for anything, and she wasn't about to thank him for doing it.

"What do you want to do first?" Kol asked, watching her.

Bonnie stepped out of his reach when he tried to take her hand.

"Don't. You lost your right to touch me when you murdered twenty people," she gave him a warning look, and whispering so no one overheard. Bonnie would have loved to cause a scene, except she had the feeling she wouldn't be the one to pay for it.

"Fine," he pouted. "Come on then, there's no line for the cotton candy machine. I'm assuming teenage girls like cotton candy?"

Just as Bonnie realized there was no line for anything. There was music and lights, and rides going, and employees. All the normal things you would find at a carnival, but there were no lines, no crowds, no people.

"Kol, what did you do?" she said, looking around with wide eyes.

"I compelled the staff to close the park, and run it for us. They'll forget in the morning," he answered with a cheeky smile. "We've the run of the place, all night, darling."

"Take me home," Bonnie demanded, as a shiver of fear ran down her spine.

"Come again?" he said, looking completely taken aback. It was clearly not the reaction he wanted. He looked torn between hurt, and angry.

Bonnie didn't know how he would react once her words sunk in.

"I said, take me home," Bonnie repeated, feeling frightened by the dark look Kol sent her.

"Why?" he sounded genuinely confused.

"Because I don't to be here alone with you on a date you forced me into going while the only other people around are compelled. I don't feel safe. Take me back," Bonnie said, crossing her arms and giving him her stubborn look.

"I've told you, I've no intention of harming you."  
"I don't care what you say! I don't even care that you aren't a liar. I don't feel safe. That was your plan, right? Scare me by bringing me here alone!"

"Actually, I rather hoped you would like it. I'm not much for crowds."

"No, because you eat them!"

"Bonnie," Kol chastised. He shook his head. "I'll take you home if that's what you want. You can even drive, but you should know, I've really no intention of harming you or anyone else tonight. I gave you my word. I don't go back on my word. Do you?"

Bonnie stared at him. She was trying to think this through, trying to decide what to do. If she demanded he take her home now, she would in his eyes be reneging on a deal. It would mean, Kol would never trust another promise she made again. Hell, in his old timey mind, it might even mean that meant he was given a free pass to demand she trust him or go back on his own promises to her, because she couldn't be trusted.

"I'll stay," she agreed at last. Knowing Kol most likely wasn't planning on hurting her, and that if she went, innocent strangers would definitely die. The potential risk to herself was outweighed by the risk to others.

"Perhaps you'll even relax before the evening is over," Kol said with a smirk.

"I really doubt that," Bonnie countered. She didn't think she could ever feel safe with Kol.

"We'll see," was all he said.

Kol held his hand out to her. Hesitantly, Bonnie put her hand in his, allowing him to draw her to him. She stopped, refusing to come any closer when there was a foot between them.

"Do vampires like cotton candy?" Bonnie asked curiously as they started walking toward the cart.

"I've never tried any. I confess, pink fluff just doesn't appeal to me," he flashed her a crooked smile.

"Why not?"

"Red is just so much more stimulating, vibrant. Pink pales in comparison," he said, eyes going black with an emotion she didn't understand yet suspected was lust or hunger. Something of both maybe, which was such an uncomfortable thought it made her stomach churn.

"And I'm sorry, I brought up vampire eating habits," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"Don't be squeamish little witch, I'm sure you've used blood in your spells," Kol said, holding up his hand, gesturing for one thing of cotton candy. Bonnie wasn't surprised he didn't really acknowledge the help.

"Sure we do. We just don't you know, ingest it," she shrugged. She didn't know how to explain to Kol that as disgusting as that was, it was still far less disgusting than drinking blood.

Kol passed her the cotton candy, and she took it, taking her hand out of Kol's to have a bite.

"Doesn't look like food to me," Kol said, cracking a smile as he started walking.

"I don't think cotton candy really looks like food to anyone or if it even really counts as food," Bonnie said, frowning at the pink fluff. "But it's cute, and delicious," she said, grinning. "If you weren't such a scary vampire, I would say you should have some."

"You Bennett witches are an odd sort."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked, she was happily munching on cotton candy as they walked through the carnival. The lights and the silly music were pleasant, if she could figure out how to ignore Kol completely, it would be pleasant.

"Because you are afraid of me, and yet you're willing to spend time with me, if you think it will save others. You aren't the first Bennett witch to put herself at risk to maybe, potentially, not really sure it will help, but I'll give it a try, to save a complete stranger."

"Oh yeah. Kai was going on about that too. I kind of just figured you gave him a more in depth explanation than the one I got on Grams' porch."

"I told you to be careful. I didn't think I needed to be any more in depth," Kol snorted.

He slowed his pace to walk next to her, he wrapped his arm around her waist. Bonnie let him, because she figured if he tried anything else, she could always shove the cotton candy in his face. It wouldn't kill him or even hurt him, but it would be totally worth it to see the look on his face.

"A few details couldn't hurt," Bonnie murmured, feeling herself get tired of the cotton candy. It was making her thirsty. "This stuff is like pure sugar, and food dye," she said, waving it in Kol's face.

Kol grimaced, and turned away.

"Very mature, Bon-Bon."

"Hey, you're 1225 and you asked out a sixteen-year-old, what did you expect?" she asked, waving it in his face some more.

"Perhaps too much," his eyes darkened. Irritated, Kol grabbed the cotton candy from her, and tossed it aside.

"Hey! I was eating that!"

"You were annoying me with it," he corrected.

"Fine, be all grouchy. You're the one that wanted to go on a date, and now you're complaining?" Bonnie said, eating the cotton candy off her thumb. She licked her lips trying to get the stuff that was stuck there off.

"Darling," Kol hummed.

Bonnie didn't trust the way his eyes went to her lips. He reached out, and brushed it off with his thumb. She gasped, heat flared through her at his touch. Kol licked the cotton candy off his finger.

"Sweet," he murmured. "I bet you taste sweet too, little witch."

"No, no tasting!" Bonnie said, holding her hands up to ward him off.

"I didn't mean your blood. Your blood, it'll taste like power, my sweet."

"I stand by my no tasting policy," she said, trying to sound as firm as she felt.

Kol turned those black eyes of his on her, and her insides wobbled a little. She knew that feeling, except she refused to believe she was feeling it for Kol. Or because of Kol. Whatever, Bonnie didn't care, point was, Kol was psycho and she was in no way attracted to him.

"Bonnie," he hummed.

Kol was moving closer, leaning down until his lips were only a breath away from hers. Still she didn't move. Why wasn't she moving? Bonnie tried to make her feet move, really she did, except she couldn't seem to make her feet move, like she wanted to stay where she was.

"Kol," she said, starting to shake her head. "Are you compelling me?"

"Witches can't be compelled," Kol answered, his lips twisting into a smirk.

Oh, that was bad. That was really, really bad because it meant Bonnie wasn't moving because she didn't want to. Because she wanted to stand here and stare at Kol like some kind of idiot.

Kol pressed his lips to hers, Bonnie gasped and jumped back like she'd been burned. Her hand flew to her lips, touching them. She could still feel him on her, as if her whole body was on fire. Bonnie realized to her horror that was what made her jump back in the first place, the fact that she'd liked kissing him. It was what had made her come to her senses quicker than any feeling of disgust or revulsion could have done.

"Don't – don't kiss me!" Bonnie exclaimed, feeling flustered and confused.

Why would she like kissing Kol? Sure he was hot as hell, but he was also psychotic.

"My apologies," Kol answered, not looking or sounding like he meant it. "You're afraid, but you're not…" his voice trailed off as he looked at her thoughtfully. "You don't perchance get off on fear, do you little witch?"

Bonnie shook her head.

"Oh," he said, smiling. Or more like smirking arrogantly.

"Don't do that thing where you analyze me, it's annoying," she grumbled, looking at her shoes.

"Have it your way then, little witch."

Bonnie hated how Kol always seemed to be able to read her frame of mind. It was unsettling and she had the feeling he understood what was going on inside of her. That he was well aware she was fighting her attraction for him. An attraction she herself hadn't even been aware of until just this moment.

She didn't like that in his unnaturally long lifespan Kol had learned how to read people. Not just the way humans could read each other's emotions and feelings, but using his vampire abilities. That he could hear her heart speed up or skip a beat. That he could smell her fear and her arousal. She especially didn't like that he'd used those skills to figure out what was going on inside of her mind.

"And stop staring," she said once the silence became to pressing.

"I was waiting for you to say something," Kol answered, and to her annoyance he sounded amused.

"Well let's go on a ride or something. I don't know. Just stop being so –"

"Charming? Handsome? Eternally young?"

"I was going to say, such a creepy vampire," Bonnie shook her head, exasperated with him.

Kol's ego really was too big to put into words.

"There's the Ferris wheel up ahead," Kol said, taking her hand and leading her along.

Bonnie sighed and surrendered to the hand holding. It was mild, and her only real objection at this point was the electric current that sparked everywhere Kol touched her. Just earlier this week she'd been disgusted by him, and now she was realizing a lot of the disgust was aimed at herself. Because she'd started to like Kol, liked having him around and he'd given her a sharp reminder of who and what he was.

"Vampires like Ferris wheels?" Bonnie asked as they got in.

"Vampires like pretty girls in Ferris wheels or at least I do," he flashed a rueful smile.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at his cheesy line.

"I thought we were going to the movies."

"I'd thought about it, but someone told me you wanted to see a movie because then we couldn't talk," Kol said grin broadening.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have told you that," Bonnie said, shaking her head.

She looked out on the side of the Ferris wheel, and she saw darkness was setting in. The higher they rose she could see the lights of Portland. It was pretty, and she liked studying the view a lot better than she liked looking at Kol. It was less confusing than he was. She turned her body to the side, and stared out at the view.

Kol scooted across the seat, and draped his arm around her shoulder. Holding her, as she gazed out at the city as the wheel turned. She ignored him, and pretended she didn't notice he was putting the moves on her.

Again.

Between him and Kai, Bonnie's head was spinning. She'd never received this much attention from guys before. And definitely not at once. It was a little flattering, even if she wasn't interested in either one. Sure, she thought they were hot, but Bonnie was pretty sure that didn't count.

"Do you like Portland?" Kol asked, voice soft.

"I guess. It's pretty here, but I don't know. I kind of just want to go home," she confessed, sighing. Things were so much easier before she learned she was a witch. That had complicated everything. "What about you? You have to have better places to be."

"Portland is dull," Kol said as if stating the obvious. "But the company isn't so bad."

"Grams told me you'd been in the French court. Aren't there other witches to stalk there?"

"Not Bennett witches," he said, squeezing her. "But that aside, the European witches are as dull as Portland. They've been hunted and persecuted for so many generations now, they hardly dare practice magic at all. With the exception of the few druids that remain."

"You've met druids?" Bonnie asked, turning around to glance at him.

"I have. They practice some dark, old magic. The sort you wouldn't approve of."

Bonnie shuddered under his black gaze. It was empty and it made her think, Kol knew what he was talking about when he said it would frighten her.

"So the rumors about human sacrifice are true?"

"You might be darker than you think, little witch," Kol smirked. "No, nothing quite so gruesome. Though there is power in that as well. Trouble with that sort of magic is you can't control it."

"Why do you know so much about magic?" Bonnie challenged. It was annoying that Kol knew more about her own heritage than she did herself.

"I used to be a warlock. Back when I was alive."

"Can't you be both?"

"No, witches are nature's servants, and vampires, we're abominations," he rolled his eyes, and tucked a lock of her hair behind ear.

"Makes sense I guess," she muttered, not about to get roped into a discussion about the morality of vampires. That sounded exhausting and Bonnie wasn't up for it. "What do you know about siphoning?"

"Kai," he said, nodding. "Go on then, ask."

"Is it common?"

"I've only seen it a handful of times over the centuries," he answered, seeming to think about it. "Most witches kill the children that display that ability. Leave them out in the woods."

"What? That's horrible!"

"Yes, I suppose it would seem that way to you, but siphoning is a real threat to a witch with actual magic. One touch for a long enough period of time, can kill you."

"Okay, so it's a self-preservation thing. But what happens in the cases where they don't kill the kid?"

"Usually they get ostracized, abused that sort of thing. It can have some truly unpleasant side-effects," he shrugged. "What are you so interested in Kai for?"

"It's not Kai, it's that I've never heard of the siphoning thing before I met him."

"Most witches haven't. The records of it, are few and far between and usually the families it occurs in don't document it. It's likely the Geminis had never heard of such a thing until Kai displayed the ability."

"Joshua might think he can force Kai into learning to do magic?"

"He might," Kol nodded. "I don't know. I hadn't met Joshua until the other day. His father again, would have been dumb enough to believe something of that nature."

"Huh," she said, thinking it over. That sort of a project, it could turn violent when Kai couldn't learn to produce magic.

"It's not possible if that's what you are thinking. Kai literally lacks the ability to generate magic and nothing in heaven or hell short of a merge could give him that ability."

"You know about the merge?"

"Of course I do," he scoffed. "I've been around a very long time, my sweet. And the Geminis have been at their disturbing practices for longer than I have been alive."

His words made a shiver run down her spine. It was true, the Geminis were creepy. There was something going on with them and it was disturbing and wrong. Whatever it was, Bonnie wanted nothing to do with it. And she wanted to leave before she got the chance to find out.

"Kol, I want go home."

"Very well. I'll take you back to the house."

"No, I want to go home to Mystic Falls," Bonnie said, insistently. She turned around to look at him. "You can get me there. You're the reason I'm here now, so do this for me. Please."

"Can't do that, little witch. You'll die. More than once," Kol said, cupping her cheek in his hand, thumb stroking her skin softly. "And I made a promise."

"I don't like this vampire business. Like you Originals aren't creepy enough, I get dumped with the Geminis. There is something seriously wrong going on in that house," she said closing her eyes.

"I imagine there is, little witch," Kol agreed. "But according to my friend's vision, creepy going on's or not, Portland is where you need to stay. I gave Sheila my word you would be safe here, I can't go back on that."

"Fine," Bonnie huffed and crossed her arms, turning her face away from Kol. Now she was angry. Why did everyone want her to stay in Portland? Until the Salvatores showed up in Mystic Falls, she had been fine. Her friends had been fine. Now everything was all wrong.

Kol didn't seem bothered by her bad mood. In fact, she got the feeling he thought it was funny as he drew her into his arms, holding her against him.

The Ferris wheel kept going. Kol had told the guy he would signal when he wanted him to stop. Bonnie didn't ask to get off. She liked the Ferris wheel on any day, but at night like now it was nice. It wasn't too fast, and while they sat here Kol seemed content to leave her to her own thoughts. That was really all she wanted. Maybe the date could be over without them needing to talk anymore.

Kol didn't seem to care one way or another, he held her, running his lips along the shell of her ear. Fingers playing along her sides. Bonnie thought that meant he was interested in her. Wanted more. If she turned around, he would kiss her, push things to go further than they were going at the moment. She wasn't about to move things along.

XXX

Kol let her drive the Ferrari home as promised. Bonnie grinned and hopped in the driver's side, snatching the key's out of his hand.

"I didn't know humans could move that fast, darling," Kol teased as he sat down in the passenger seat.

"They can when they're about to drive a really fast expensive Italian car," Bonnie said, buckling in and unable to hide her glee.

She loved her practical little Toyota. The one her dad had promised to drive up when he came to visit. It was a great car, but that didn't mean she wouldn't love to drive a Ferrari. How often did a girl get the chance to do that?

"Have at it," he grinned at her.

Bonnie got the feeling Kol liked it when she teased him. She also got the feeling he liked it when he could make her smile. He wasn't really in the best position to do that, but his car was.

Grinning, she shifted the car into gear and sped out of the parking lot.

"You have insurance, right?" she asked as she pulled out onto the freeway.

"You remember a car crash might kill you, don't you little witch?" he countered with a smirk playing on his lips.

The drive home was over too soon. Driving the Ferrari had been amazing. She felt almost like she was flying as they whipped along the freeway, the car being fast and moving nimbly around corners. She thought going on another date with Kol might almost be worth it if she got to drive his car again.

Almost.

Kol didn't walk her to the door, not wanting Joshua to see who she was with.

"The Geminis generally don't take kindly to vampires. If Joshua knew you were out with me, it might put you in a difficult position," Kol said, as he lounged against the hood of his car, watching her.

"That's what Jo said. But how do you know he isn't watching us from the window now?"

"He's upstairs, arguing with one of his children. Something about the twins," he shrugged. "Do you help take care of them?"

Bonnie nodded.

"No wonder you want to go home. You modern women aren't as taken with children as your ancestors were."

"I'm sixteen, I'm not supposed to be 'taken with children'," Bonnie quoted sarcastically, and rolled her eyes.

"Don't fancy them at all. Noisy little creatures," Kol wrinkled his nose.

Bonnie laughed. Then she caught herself and schooled her expression back into place.

Kol grabbed her hand, and pulled her to him. Bonnie gasped, and her hands fell against his chest. He pulled her between his legs.

"If you bite me, I swear to God I'll –"

"You are obsessed with biting, I'll have you know, vampires think of other things," Kol scoffed, dismissing her concerns.

"Like what?" Bonnie challenged.

"Sex," he whispered in her ear.

"Kol!" she slapped his chest.

"Sorry, darling," he said, smiling crooked. There was nothing apologetic about that smile.

Kol kissed her. He ran his tongue along the bottom seam of her lip, coaxing her to open her mouth, so he could deepen the kiss. His hand twined into her hair, pulling her closer. Bonnie leaned against him, hands pressed against his chest and wondering why she was kissing him back instead of pushing him away. Or better yet, lighting him on fire. But God did it feel good. Kol's kiss was demanding, stealing her breath away and making fire course through her veins. He nipped at her bottom lip, and she gasped pulling away.

"Goodnight, Kol," Bonnie said, and to her embarrassment her voice was shaky.

"Night, little witch, sweet dreams," he said, staring at her intently.

Feeling uncomfortably like prey, Bonnie took off at a half run for the house. The Parker home, didn't seem any less creepy, but at least she could escape his stare. Besides, maybe Jo was still up.

She heard the sounds of Kol's car leaving. She was about to open the front door when a familiar voice spooked her.

"Aha, come play with me, Bunny," Kai said.

Bonnie jumped about a foot in the air.

"Where did you come from?" she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

Kai had snuck up on her from behind. He'd been lurking again, just like on the first day she'd arrived here. She knew he'd just been cloaking himself, but it was unsettling.

"I've been here a while."

"You're as bad as Kol with the whole creeping around thing," she complained. "Wait, how long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know you can't think Kol is too bad, I mean from where I was standing it looked like you really, really like him."

"Please stop talking," Bonnie said, groaning and clutching her hair in frustration.

Between Kai and Kol, Bonnie couldn't get a whole lot more frustrated. If one of them wasn't pushing her buttons, the other one was.

"Why?" Kai said, he stepped forward, taking both her hands in his.

"Kai," Bonnie said, whining. "Stop goofing off. It's late."  
"Kol got a goodnight kiss, I want one too, Bunny."

"What are you? Twelve? Your buddy got kissed so you want a kiss too?"

"When you put it like that, I sound childish and totally petty," he grinned and it was wicked.

"That's because you are being totally childish and petty," she laughed and shook her head at him. Not taking him seriously.

"Come on, one kiss," Kai said, he pulled her to him. So close her chest was pressed against his. Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You know you want to," he grazed his lips across hers.

Bonnie felt heat flare up in her. Just like it had with Kol. Why did Kai, who annoyed her to no end, apparently also turn her on?

"Will it make you go away?"

"You know it will. At least for tonight," he whispered against her lips.

"One kiss," Bonnie agreed in a whisper. "If Kol kills you, that's on you."

"Scary," he teased.

Kai pressed his lips to hers, and she kissed him. This time, feeling bolder than she had with Kol, she was the one to deepen the kiss. Kai wrapped her arms around his neck, and tightened his arms around her hips.

"One kiss," she said, breaking the kiss. "Goodnight Kai."

She pulled free of his arms and ran inside. Throwing the bedroom door shut behind her.

"How'd it go?" Jo asked, sitting up.

"I don't know," Bonnie said, sitting down on the bed next to the other girl.

And it was the truth. Bonnie didn't know how it had gone. Kol probably thought the date went great, she hadn't set him on fire or given him an aneurism and she'd even let him kiss her at the end of the night. That was the scary part, that was in spite of what Kol was, she was drawn to him. What did that say about her?

She didn't know. The only person she thought might actually understand was Elena, but she didn't want to bother her. Not when she was grieving Stefan.

Then as if things weren't confusing enough, she'd kissed Kai. Agreed to let him have one kiss. Why, she wasn't sure. She suspected maybe she wanted to. That it was as simple as that. That after a week of touching him, sitting in his lap, and letting him wrap his arms of her, she'd finally had enough teasing and wanted more.

Neither kiss was bad. In fact, they were good. Really good. That was a scary thought because what did that mean? What did that say about her? Was she like Katherine. Did she want both men? Was she going to play and manipulate both of them to have her own way? She almost physically flinched at the thought, so strong was her revulsion.

No, Bonnie wasn't going to do that. She was not going to be that person. But she had also no idea what she was going to do or who she was. Until tonight, she'd thought she had that figured out.

But if she was really the girl she thought she was, she never would have kissed either of them.

Head spinning and confusion warring inside of her, she fell back on the bed.

 **Thanks so much for the support for this fic! Bonnie and Kol finally had their big date, what do you think of it? Not to mention the little bonkai twist at the end of the chapter? What do you think is going to happen next? I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr for those of you that haven't left the site even with its new censorship.**

 **Izzy**


	7. Chapter 7

The morning after her date with Kol, and her more than unfortunate kiss with both him and Kai, Bonnie didn't want to get out of bed. In fact, she might have stayed where she was all day except she felt bad for Jo. The other girl was getting up at seven in the morning, even though it was a Saturday to take her siblings to the carnival.

In the end, Bonnie got out bed to help her with Liv and Luke. The other kids helped out as best they could, but being a fourteen-year-old boy, Kyle wasn't much help. Joey, Annie and Katie were all too young to help out a whole lot. Mostly, what Bonnie noticed what they did best was make sure Jo had to help them as little as possible.

All Jo had to do for Katie and Annie was help them with their hair. Today, Bonnie did that. The girls crowded into the bathroom the youngest siblings shared. Katie brushed her own hair while Bonnie brushed Annie's hair.

"You've got such pretty hair," Bonnie told her.

It was as black as Jo and Kai's and stick straight. It was soft between her fingers, and when she brushed it, it shone in the light.

"I want curls like yours," Annie replied, smiling up at her. "Jo told me if I want curls, I should sleep with my hair in braids, but that's uncomfortable, and I don't like it," she frowned.

"No, you don't. My hair is totally high maintenance," Bonnie laughed.

"What does that mean?" Annie asked.

Annie talked like such a little grown up that Bonnie often forgot how young she really was.

"It means it's a lot of work to make sure it looks nice," she explained.

"I knew that!" Katie chimed in.

Bonnie smiled at her, and bit back a laugh as Annie stuck her tongue at her sister.

She finished braiding Annie's hair. Then she helped pull Katie's hair up into a high ponytail. Bonnie was out of things to do in the bathroom then. She really wanted to just make a run for it, but she knew she couldn't. Just like she knew she couldn't hide upstairs forever.

With a sinking feeling and a lot of embarrassment for her own stupidity, Bonnie followed Annie and Katie downstairs. Maybe she was really lucky, and Kai was sick.

He was not sick. He was cooking breakfast, like he did every morning.

"Morning, Bunny," he said, grinning at her.

Bonnie flushed a deeper red than she already was. Then she realized he was ignoring his other siblings and she felt herself getting annoyed with him. What gave Kai the right to ignore his siblings? Just because he had to take care of them? Which was stupid because Jo did all the real work.

Of course, she thought looking at him and softening just a little. Kai was the only one who had to deal with Joshua's wrath. Maybe it wasn't fair to judge him.

"Morning," Bonnie mumbled, averting her eyes.

Kai smirked, she wasn't looking, but she didn't need to see his expression to know he was. He always was, especially if he thought something he did got to her.

Bonnie saw Jo was trying and failing to feed Lukas some pancake bites. Jo was eating her own breakfast with one hand, and trying to feed him with the other. Next to them Liv was munching happily on pancakes and holding her sippy cup in one hand. That had to be at least some relief, even if Luke was being difficult. Yet when Bonnie looked at Jo, she saw how exhausted the other girl looked.

"Where's Joshua?" Bonnie asked, if he was sleeping in, she had half a mind to light his bed on fire.

"Business," Kai said, between mouthfuls.

He was piling the food onto the table and eating directly from it. Bonnie had noticed that at home Kai was always eating. Just constantly eating, and nothing seemed to deter him. Yet he wasn't fat, it was annoying.

"Coven or work business?" Bonnie said as she fixed herself a plate.

"Coven, definitely coven," Jo said, giving up on trying to feed Lukas and dropping his fork. She ran her fingers through her hair, looking like she wanted to cry.

"Hey, I'll take over," Bonnie said, coming to sit down next to her. "You eat, and I'll help Lukas."

"Thanks," Jo said, her smile was wobbly though and the deep circles underneath her eyes were oddly visible against her pale skin.

"No problem," Bonnie said, giving her another concerned look. She shot an angry look at Kai. He never helped. Kai winked at her. Bonnie's glower deepened. "So what's wrong Lukie?" she asked the little boy. "Don't you like pancakes?"

In answer, Luke slammed his fist against the table, and tossed the plate on the floor. Screaming the whole time.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Bonnie said, sighing.

"You don't need to do this, really you don't," Jo said.

"Yes, I do," Bonnie countered. "You deserve a break."

"Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. What about a banana?" Bonnie asked Luke, taking a piece of fruit from the bowl on the center of the table.

"Banana!" Luke said, clapping.

"And we have a winner," she grinned.

Bonnie ignored Kai when he sat down next to her, eating eggs out of the pan like he did every morning. She was slicing up Luke's banana into small pieces. Then she put them on Luke's plate and ate her own breakfast, while Luke mashed up the banana pieces with his fingers, but to her relief, he was actually eating the mush.

"I'm beginning to think you want to babysit the brats," Kai remarked.

Bonnie didn't answer him. "Jo, do you want to stay home? Maybe nap or something?"

"Can't, I promised to take them to the carnival," Jo replied, shaking her head.

"I can handle it. Seriously, you deserve a day off," Bonnie said, still looking at the bags under Jo's eyes with concern.

"Really?" Jo said, looking so hopeful Bonnie felt bad for her.

"Really."

"Oh, thank you!" she hugged Bonnie. "I can go back to bed, and go to the carnival with the cheerleaders later – and wait, then you'll miss out on going with us!"

"It's totally fine," Bonnie said, waving it aside.

"But you were supposed to play with us!" Katie said, looking like she might pout.

"How about I play with you instead?" Bonnie asked. "Let Jo have a day off from babysitting. I mean she gets up early with you guys, packs everyone's lunch. Makes sure you have everything for school."

"Picks us up," Kyle added. "Helps you with your homework."

"Makes sure you do yours, Kyle," Joey said, and ducked when Kyle swung at him.

"And gives the little ones their baths. Bedtime stories, and if someone gets sick she takes care of us."

"Not to mention she goes to school. So what do you say, Katie, we give Jo the day off?"

"Okay," Katie said.

"We can play tomorrow," Jo told her.

The older girl was already getting up and was practically running for the stairs.

"See you do like babysitting," Kai hummed, smirking at her.

Bonnie kicked him under the table.

"Kai stop it," Kyle said, sounding exasperated.

Bonnie shot him a grateful smile. Kai didn't answer, the look he sent Kyle made his brother wince. Kai put his hand on the back of her chair, and leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"If you wanted to play house all you had to –"

"And I'm leaving," Bonnie said, getting up and knocking Kai's hand off the back of her chair.

He laughed.

Kyle found her in the living room, reading her family's grimoire once the others were done eating breakfast. He was carrying both Liv and Luke, one twin on each arm.

"I think Lukas ate enough, but I don't know," Kyle said, handing Liv to her. "I'm never sure with the twins."

"It's okay, if he gets hungry we'll do an early lunch at the carnival," she told him, taking Liv. "Where are the others?"

"Getting their shoes on. Jo left a bag with the things we need by the front entrance."

"Great, I'll grab it on our way out," Bonnie said.

They carried the twins to the main entrance. There was more chaos there. Kai had slipped outside, no surprise there. Katie wanted to wear flip-flops while Annie wanted to wear her rain boots. Kyle looked bored. He was dressed in sneakers and waiting by the door. He was also wearing a cap, and he had a sweater slung over his arm.

At least one of them was ready to go, Bonnie thought.

How she managed it with only Kyle helping her, Bonnie had no idea, but she did. She managed to wrangle everyone into appropriate footwear, namely sneakers. Everyone brought a spare coat or a sweater and a hat. She also managed to find everyone's sunglasses and make everyone put on sunscreen. How Jo did this every morning when they weren't even her kids, Bonnie had no clue.

Then they got everyone into the car. Kai was still not helping, but Annie and Katie were acting like their usual helpful selves again so it wasn't serious.

Bonnie thought she might cry in relief when she finally got to sit down in the passenger side. And boy, was it nice not be riding in the back with the screaming kids.

"You survived," Kai smirked.

"No thanks to you."

"Hey, you're the one that volunteered for this not me. Sink or swim, Bunny," Kai said, turning on the engine. As he drove off, he shot her a sideways look. One she didn't understand.

"What is it? You're looking at me funny."

"You know, if you really want my help, I can tell you what would convince me –"

"Kai, I am going to stop that sentence in its tracks. Whatever you are about to say, I so don't want to hear."

"Has Kol called yet?" he said, changing the subject so fast it made her head spin.

"No," she said.

Was he supposed to call? No, that was stupid. Why was she worrying about whether or not Kol called her just because Kai asked? It wasn't like she liked him or was going to go out with him again. Besides, it wasn't even nine in the morning yet.

"Hm, wonder what's keeping him," Kai mused.

Bonnie turned the music up loud enough it discouraged conversation. Kai smirked at her, like she'd proven his point for him or something stupid. Maybe she had, but at the moment she didn't care.

Kai parked as close to the carnival as he could get. Which wasn't very close, it was Saturday morning and all the families with little kids were there already. Once again, Bonnie was struck by how wrong this was. How wrong it was that Jo and Kai were supposed to do everything that was Joshua's responsibility. He was the one that had had all these kids and he couldn't even be bothered to raise them.

"Kai, can you push the twins?" Bonnie asked once she got the stroller out of the back and pulled it up. Kyle was helping her buckle the twins in.

"Why?" Kai drawled, sounding bored as he typed away on his phone.

"Because it's heavy," Bonnie said, hands on her hips and looking at him exasperation.

Kai was like twice her size, and he was a lot stronger than she was. Kyle was helping out, but he was still a spacey fourteen-year-old. Bonnie kept waiting for him to drift back into whatever planet he habituated that was not real life.

"Jo's spelled it. Doesn't weigh a thing to push, Bunny," he said, still not looking up from his phone.

God, this was frustrating. Was this what Jo dealt with on a daily basis? No wonder she was exhausted. Bonnie would have been homicidal by now, if she'd been in Jo's shoes.

"Kai," Bonnie said, letting some of the frustration she was feeling leak into her voice.

It wasn't even about the stroller anymore. If it was light, fine she could push it. It was more about the fact that Kai couldn't help out with even the littlest of things.

Kai looked up and when he saw the look on her face, something shifted in his eyes. Almost like he was softening as he looked at her.

"I'll push the damned stroller," Kai said, sighing. "This is for you, you remember that, Bunny."

"Thank you," she said, smiling at him.

"Just add it to the list of reasons I'm awesome," Kai said in her ear as he passed her. He slapped her bum, and just like that, Bonnie wanted to kill him again.

"Kai!" she exclaimed angrily.

Then realizing his siblings were watching them, Bonnie dropped it. Kai was only did it to make her furious and she refused to give him the satisfaction.

"You alright?" Kyle said, coming over to her.

"I'm fine. I just want to kill your brother," Bonnie murmured, pulling on her hair.

"Everybody does," Kyle answered, nudging her.

"I'm beginning to think it's a part of his charm," she muttered sarcastically.

Kai was seriously starting to get on her nerves. He would do something nice, even if it wasn't for the right reasons, and then he would go and ruin that action by being vile. Bonnie was beginning to think she couldn't win with him.

Bonnie turned out to be right about Kai. He was disinterested in his other siblings, but he was equally disinterested in the rides around them. Kyle on the other hand, wanted to go on all the big kid rides his younger siblings couldn't go on. He saw one of the girls from his class and took off with her and her friends.

"Seriously? We haven't even been here an hour," Bonnie complained, she was holding Joey's hand, and Katie's in the other.

Annie was riding on the back of the stroller while Kai pushed it with her and the twins in it.

"And you thought I was irresponsible," Kai said, rolling his eyes.

"He was helping and then –" Bonnie gave up on formulating a sentence and settled for sighing in frustration.

How did Jo do this?

"Kyle was helping because he thinks you're pretty," Kai sing-songed. "Once he figured out you're not interested, off he goes."

"He does think you're pretty, he told me," Joey chimed in.

Joey was the only one of the kids, who was listening. The rest of them were gawking at the cotton candy, and the rides. Not to mention the games, and all the people.

"Sounds like he takes after you," Bonnie told Kai, giving him a dirty look.

"He wishes," Kai replied with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Ugh," Bonnie groaned. "Hey, I see teacups, who wants to go on them?"

"I do, I do!" Annie said, nearly topping off the stroller. The only thing that stopped her was Kai grabbing the back of her dress to keep her in place.

"It's perfect, even the twins can go on them," Bonnie said, as they reached the line.

Kai ordered Annie off the stroller. Bonnie took the twins out of the stroller, and gave one to each Joey and Katie, telling them to look out for them.

Bonnie followed Kai to the railing where they could watch the teacups spin. She made sure she had the kids in her line of vision the whole time.

"Why'd you do it?" Kai asked, grabbing her arm, and pulling her next to him.

Bonnie kicked his shin and moved away. This was becoming so routine for them, she didn't even think twice about it.

"Do what?" Bonnie said making sure; she stayed just out of reach of his hands.

"Give Jo the day off," he said, and now his eyes were following a young blonde girl. She had to be about sixteen, and it seemed Kai found her interesting because he watched her in line, she was arguing with her little brother.

"Didn't you see how exhausted she looked?"

"She's looked like that since Annie was three," Kai said, shrugging. "I don't see how it's our problem dad had too many brats to handle."

"It isn't, but Joshua's made it your problem," Bonnie said, now watching the blonde girl arguing with her brother. Kai glanced over at her, and smirked knowingly.

"How much do you want to bet she slaps him?" Kai said, and he didn't need to specify, she knew who he meant.

"She's not going to –" Bonnie said, just as the girl did slap her brother because he kicked her twice in a row. "And he's screaming."

She watched as the pair ran out of line, shouting for their parents.

"Told yah," Kai said, smugly.

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Are there any witches in Portland that don't belong to your coven?" she asked to change the subject.

"There aren't any witches in Oregon that don't belong to my coven," he answered eyeing her up. "Except you Bunny. Hell, Kol is the only other supernatural creature in the state. Dear old dad runs his territory with an iron fist."

"Why am I allowed to be here? I'm living in your house. A house that the owner is so paranoid, he's used magic to cloak it. Just because Grams asks? Somehow, I don't think Joshua is that easy to convince."

"He's not," Kai replied easily. "The Bennetts and the Geminis are old allies. If you'd read your family's Grimoires and not just listened to your Grams babble –"

"Hey, spare me the condescension," Bonnie snapped.

"Well if you had, you'd know we've been intermarrying and fighting each other for almost two thousand years."

"Marrying? Does that mean we're related?"

"Don't think so. If we are, it's like a couple hundred years in the past, with our super distant cousins removed six times kind of a related."

"Good, I'd hate to share blood with you," she smiled sweetly.

"Ouch," he winked at her. "Why so curious, Bonster?"

"No reason. I was just thinking about some stuff. Like how Cassie was saying they came here to seek protection from the Geminis."

"You did too."

"Yeah, except I haven't been assimilated into the coven. Which is what makes it weird. Did Cassie's coven have to or did they request it?"

"Dad made them. He wouldn't protect a coven outside of our own, or he might if they could be of some use. Cassie's coven, they're just a bunch of teens and old people. The generation in the middle hardly knows what magic is. Either way, no way would we allow a fully-fledged coven, no matter how young they are to settle down in our city, unless they joined us."

"But how does that make you safe from them?"

"Because every member of the Gemini coven is linked to the leader. If he dies, so does the whole coven."

"And when you and Jo merge, that'll be whoever survives."

"You mean me, Bunny. I'll be the next leader," Kai said, and now she noticed he was watching the twins with an expression she didn't like.

"Okay, fair enough. Everyone's life will be tied to yours once you are coven leader. So basically, the Geminis can't have a rebellion."

"Not among our ranks. I mean, I suppose it's possible in theory, but it's difficult and risky," he shrugged.

"Huh," Bonnie said, mind processing all this news. Yet it still didn't make sense why she was allowed to live among them without joining them, even if she was just one witch. "And still Joshua didn't demand I join your coven. Why not?"

"Who's to say he won't demand it later on?" Kai returned, giving her a look that chilled her to the bone.

"Why not do it now then?" Bonnie countered. "You're just trying to freak me out."

"Just wait till he figures out you're running around with Kol. He'll be demanding you join us then. He'll probably force you."

"No, you're just trying to freak me out," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "And if you tell him, I'll set you on fire. I don't care if you're not a vampire."

"Feisty," he laughed. "I wasn't going to tell dad anything. I'm just giving you a heads up, Bunny. You're vulnerable here. If dad wants something from you, you've got nowhere to run."

That wasn't true, Bonnie thought. She could run to Kol.

"Whatever," she brushed his comment aside.

Her phone started to ring and she went to answer it, getting as far away from Kai as she could. She only saw it was Kol once she was a good distance away from Kai. She hesitated, debating letting it go to voicemail, but then decided she might as well answer. It wasn't like he could do much damage over the phone.

"Morning little witch," Kol said, and if possible his voice sounded almost more arrogant and self-satisfied over the phone than it did normally.

"What do you want Kol?"

"Strange, you don't sound like a girl who wants to kiss me again."

"That's because I don't," she answered, rolling her eyes.

"You should be nicer to me, Bonnie."

"Kol, I am not in the mood, okay? I'm trying to give Jo the day and off, and it hasn't even been two hours, and I'm already exhausted. Remind me never to have children. So whatever it is, just cut to the chase."

"As you wish, darling," he answered, sounding amused. Bonnie would really like to give him a good kick. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know. Reading Grimoires, probably."

"Want to have some actual fun?"

"Kol, one date is all you're getting. I have to go. I'll see you at school."

Bonnie hung up on him before he had time to argue. She went back to Kai. The kids were on the teacups now. And to her relief, for once, Kai wasn't talking or eating. Bonnie didn't know why his habit of eating all the time bugged her, it just did. And the more time she spent with him, the more annoying it became.

Bonnie and Kai watched his siblings go around on the teacups for a few rounds before they were dizzy, and the twins were fussing. Then they loaded the little ones into the stroller, and Annie hopped on the back. She was chattering a mile a minute, talking excitedly to Kai, who was very obviously not listening. Bonnie took Joey's hand and tried to keep an eye on Katie as she skipped on ahead.

Bonnie stopped when she ran into Sean and Nick from the coven. They were with Cassie.

"Hey Bonnie," Cassie said hugging her, then she ruffled Joey's hair.

Joey swatted at her hand, grumbling about how he was almost twelve.

They talked for a few minutes and Bonnie realized she'd lost track of Katie.

"Do you see Katie?" she asked Kai, who was covering Annie's mouth with his hand, shushing her. "What are you doing?" she demanded, as it registered what he was doing to his little sister.

"She won't stop talking," Kai said, rolling his eyes. Annie bit him, and Bonnie grinned.

"Talking too much runs in the family," Bonnie told him, slapping his wrist.

Kai let go and rolled his eyes at her.

"I see Katie," he said, and his eyes narrowed.

Bonnie followed his gaze, and saw Katie was talking to a man.

"Does she know him?" Cassie asked, concerned.

"No, she really doesn't," Kai said, he grabbed Bonnie's wrist without warning. She whimpered, as he stole her magic. The only thing that kept her from screaming was biting down on her lip. It felt like she was being burned. "Sorry, Bunny."

Kai strode toward the man. Nick looked between them and Kai.

"Stay here with the girls, Sean," he said before taking off after Kai.

Bonnie was watching with fear coiling in her stomach.

"I could help," Sean huffed.

Bonnie didn't even hear him. She was too busy watching Kai approach the strange man with Nick having caught up to him.

"I'm sure you could," Cassie said kindly.

XXX

Kai recognized another predator when he saw one. He was a very different kind of a predator, but he recognized danger when he saw it. That guy was trying to give Katie cotton candy, and he was a stranger. Of course Katie would take it, they never ate out at home, and dad rarely let them have candy. And that creep was about to use that against his little sister. Not on his watch.

"We're going Katie," Kai said, grabbing her upper arm and pulling her to him.

"Kai! He gave me cotton candy!" Katie said, waving the pink fluff at him.

"Really?" Kai focused his steel glare at the other man. He snatched the cotton candy from Katie and threw it on the ground.

"Hey!"

"I didn't mean to cause trouble," the man was saying. "She your kid?"

"Hardly," Kai snorted. "Motus," he sent the man flying into the cotton candy stall just as Nick came up to them.

"Everything alright?" Nick said.

"It is now," Kai said, dragging Katie back to the stroller. "Don't talk to strangers," he said, tossing her to Bonnie.

Bonnie caught the little girl and held her when she started to sniffle. She shushed her and told her everything was fine, just not to talk to strangers.

"What happened?" Bonnie said, looking up at him.

"Some creep," Kai growled. "We're going home."

"But we just got here," Joey complained.

"Fine, suit yourselves. But I'm leaving now, anyone that wants a ride, come on."

"Kai, c'mon," Bonnie said, trying to speak to him in a quiet voice.

"Last chance," Kai said, sauntering off to the car.

Bonnie growled and followed him, saying goodbye to Cassie even as she was already dialing Kyle's number on her cellphone.

XXX

Jo was on her way out the door to wait for her ride, when Bonnie and the others came piling in the door. Bonnie and Kai were at the back of the group, carrying each their twin and arguing about leaving the carnival early.

"You guys are back early," Jo commented, eyes going between Bonnie and Kai.

"Ask him," Bonnie said, angrily jerking her thumb at Kai.

"Some creepy old pervert tried to give Annie cotton candy -"

"It was Katie!" Bonnie hissed at him. "So Kai doesn't just go get Katie. He grabs her, throws the cotton candy on the ground and makes her cry. Then he makes everyone leave."

"They aren't staying at the carnival with some sicko running loose," Kai growled, staring at her with such a dead look in his eye it made a shiver run down her spine.

"But you didn't need to be mean about it!" she argued, realizing her argument was falling on deaf ears.

"Knock it off, Bunny before you push me too far," Kai threatened, taking a step forward.

Bonnie tried to hide how afraid she was. In that instant every fiber of her being was screaming at her that Kai was dangerous. Still, she was not about to be bullied by him.

"You made her cry," she said, then she shook her head, realizing something. "I am totally wasting my breath trying to explain the problem to you, aren't I? You have absolutely no concept of what you did wrong."

"Yeah, nothing," Kai said arrogantly, rolling his eyes at her.

"Fine, whatever. You act like a complete and total jerk, Kai. I mean, you don't even care about your siblings so why the hell should you care if something does happen?"

"I don't care. I just figure at this point, if anyone gets the pleasure of killing the little brats it should be me," he said with a happy smile.

That same cold chill ran down Bonnie's spine again. Like it did every time Kai said things like that or gave her one of his cold looks. That little warning that he was dangerous, that there was something not quite right about him and the rest of the Parkers. Something not quite human.

"Hey!" Jo exclaimed. "The two of you are fucking impossible! Kai, I don't know exactly what you did to piss Bonnie off, but apologize!"

"Again, I did nothing. The two of you have a serious listening problem."

"And Bonnie, you're out of line."

"Maybe," she muttered.

"And for the record, Bunny, no, I don't care," Kai said, snorting. "That's what I've been saying for years, but you girls seem to think I should."

"That isn't true, Kai," Jo said gently. "It's alright to care."

"Too bad I don't then," he said with his usual manic smile, and swaggered off.

"I'm so sorry," Bonnie said in a quiet voice to Jo.

"It's fine. Kai is difficult, and I think he managed to push your buttons. Still, the best thing you can do is ignore him."

"I'll try to remember that next time. I really am sorry," Bonnie repeated, feeling sheepish.

"Don't worry about it. Nobody got magicked, so no real harm done," Jo said, grinning.

"Still," she shrugged. "Do you think I should try talking to Kai again?"

"Nah, just find him in a couple of hours and act like nothing happened. If you do that, he should be good. So uhm, did Kol call?"

"Jo!" Bonnie exclaimed, laughing. "It was one date, that he like forced me into. Who cares if he calls?"

"No one, but did he?" she asked with a mischievous expression.

"Have fun, Jo," Bonnie said, laughing and rolling her eyes.

"Oh, you can run, but you can't hide! We will be talking about this!" Jo said, pointing at her as she was on her way out the door.

Bonnie found the rest of the Parker siblings in the living room, Kyle and Joey were playing some video game that had zombies and lots of shooting in it. She grabbed the clicker and turned the volume down, when they protested, she pointed to Lukas who was being doted on by Annie and Katie, then to Liv, who she was still holding.

"Come on girls, let's get everyone cleaned up," Bonnie said, waving for them to come with her to the bathroom.

Kai was just coming back down from upstairs. He'd changed into a pair of black sweat pants and a dark blue T-shirt. Bonnie had to swallow not to stare. He looked good. Like really good. The shirt clung to his body, revealing that he was probably in even better shape than even she'd suspected.

"Kai, will you make the kids some sandwiches for lunch?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't make some snide remark and brush it off.

"Brats, can feed themselves for all I care," he said.

"Take Liv," Bonnie said to Annie and Katie.

Then she hurried after Kai, who was trying to run away from her and into the backyard.

"You know, Bunny stalking me, I'm flattered, but it's a little creepy," Kai said, grinning as he sat down on the swing set.

Like the overgrown kid he was, he started swinging back and forth.

"Kai, I shouldn't have said that, okay?" she said, almost swallowing her own tongue before she was able to admit that.

"Was that an apology?" he mocked, pretending to be so shocked, he nearly fell off the swing set.

"Sort of. Now where's mine?"

"You don't get an apology, but if you ask real nice, maybe I'll kiss you again, Bunny."

"Yeah, so not going to happen," Bonnie replied, rolling her eyes.

"Puh-lease, you totally want me."

"Don't flatter yourself. You got that kiss because Kol got one. It only seemed fair," she said, sitting down on the swing set next to his.

"Really?" he questioned, hopping off the swing. Moving nimbly and far too predatory, Kai sauntered around behind her. That made her nervous, and she turned to see what he was doing. "So why did Kol get a kiss?" he breathed in her ear. Then he grabbed the swing and started pushing her on it. Bonnie was startled at first, and she gasped, which made her giggle once the surprise wore off.

"I don't know. Temporary insanity?" Bonnie said, with as much indifference as she could muster. "And then you wanted a kiss, and I thought, well why not? I've already kissed one jerk."

"You still want me," he said, laughing. "Probably because of my bad boy swagger. You aren't like Cassie and those other girls at school. You know what I am, and yet you don't steer clear. Curious."

"Little hard to do when we live in the same house."

"True," he laughed. "But you could still have manage to stay further away than you do."

"The house isn't that big," Bonnie said. "In fact, I'm surprised it has room for the rest of us with your ego."

"Ouch," he said, laughing.

"Okay, so are we good? Because I have to help the girls clean up," Bonnie said, jumping off the swing and landing lightly.

"Let them take care of themselves for like two seconds," he said, pouting and giving her a playful look.

"Can't, I left the twins with them."

"No fun," he complained, but Bonnie was already running back toward the house. When she was on the terrace, she turned around, and stuck her tongue out at him before going inside. The last thing Bonnie heard before the door closed behind her was Kai calling out; "You totally want me, babe!"

That made Bonnie laugh and cringe. It was funny because his ego was ridiculous and at the same time, it was horrifying because he'd just called her babe. Bonnie hated being called babe.

XXX

Bonnie helped the youngest kids wash up and had lunch with them. Lucky for her or the kids would have been a nightmare from being so hungry, Kai had caved in after their talk and made everyone grilled cheese. Then she'd put the twins down for a nap in the backyard. Making them comfortable on little blankets and putting up some shade. Then she cast a silencing spell so the other kids would be able to come outside to play while Kyle and Joey did the dishes. Kai had bullied them into it, and Bonnie was grateful.

Now Bonnie was lying on her back in the grass, not far from the twins and couldn't have been more content. Until her cellphone rang, she answered it without checking to see who it was first.

"Hey."

"Bonnie my darling," Kol said in his usual arrogant way that somehow managed to be charming.

"What do you want? I was actually having a nice day," she complained, groaning. This was the second time today he was calling.

"I thought the Parkers were creepy?" he countered.

"Marginally less creepy when Joshua is nowhere around," she said. "And Kai is being weirdly normal, what's up with that?"

"I hear my name, all good things I hope," Kai said, lying down next to her. "Calling a bit late in the day, aren't you Kol?" he asked, moving closer so his hear was pressed against the other side of the phone. Bonnie's breathing nearly caught, she hadn't been this close to Kai since they kissed last night. It made an electric tingle course through her as she recalled.

"Where are you?" Kol asked, sounding almost but not quite amused.

"Outside, we're in the backyard," Bonnie said, pushing at Kai, who refused to move.

"Come play with me, Bonnie," Kol hummed in a husky voice.

Hearing him speak was making her remember kissing him too. Suddenly, Bonnie felt too hot and there was an ache in her core. She subtly rubbed her legs together to get some friction, trying to rid herself of the sensation.

"No, you're trouble," she said after a minute.

"So is Kai. I don't want you playing with him, darling."

"I'm not. I'm babysitting," she rolled her eyes. "Kai is just determined to follow me around."

"Like you don't want me to," Kai scoffed.

"His arrogance is absurd," sensing this was going in a direction where Kai got slammed, she changed phone hands so he couldn't hear what Kol was saying. "The things I could do to you, Bonnie. Things I could make you feel. Things he has no idea of."

"Stop it," she hissed.

"Why? Am I affecting you?" he sounded curious, and arrogant, to her annoyance. When she didn't answer he continued. "I am. You know what I'm talking about. Sensed it, haven't you, little witch? I've been around for a long time, imagine the things I've learned."

"I am serious, stop it," she repeated, thinking about hanging up.

Kai had rolled onto his stomach, head resting on his arms, he was watching her. His blue eyes shone with curiosity and mischief as he tried to hear what Kol was saying, but the phone was too far away, and Kol was speaking quietly, to Bonnie's relief.

"No high school boy could satisfy you the way I can, my sweet."

"You're a high school boy," she rolled her eyes.

"A mere technicality. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean."

"Yeah, I'm going to hang up now."

"Don't, I'll behave."  
"You aren't capable of it," she told him, laughing.

"Go out with me tomorrow," he said, changing gears completely.

"Nope," she said, and then wanted to kick herself because Kai raised eyebrows at the teasing in her voice. "I'll see you at school."

"I'm bored," he pouted.

"That's not my problem. You invited yourself to Mystic Falls and to Portland. It's not my fault you left French court, speaking of which, do the French even still have a monarchy?"

"Not officially they don't."

"Quit being vague," she complained.

"Tell you in exchange for a date."

"I'm not that curious. Bye Kol," she said, hanging up.

"Was he whispering dirty little secrets to you?" Kai asked, tilting his head to the side and surveying her.

"Jealous?"

"Of that bloodsucker? Hardly," he snorted. "You're a witch. Most figure out sooner or later that vampires can't be trusted."  
"He's your friend," she countered.

"Doesn't mean I trust him, unlike you. He's your boyfriend, soon you'll be making moon eyes at him and following him around like a little puppy dog. You'll trust him completely and you'll be sorry."

"You're wrong. No matter what, I could never trust either one of you," Bonnie said, raising up onto her elbows and giving him a hard look. "And he's not my boyfriend. If he was, I wouldn't have kissed you."

"Maybe not," he rolled his eyes. "Want to practice some magic, Bunny?"

"Maybe, will it get you to stop calling me Bunny?"

"Not a chance," he said with a broad grin that made him look like a happy little boy.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Stuff."

"Vague. But fine, as long as you promise not to slap my ass again," she said, giving in.

"Oh, c'mon, how could I not? We were being all domestic with the stroller and those big green eyes of yours. Felt like the thing to do, you know?"

"Excuse me?" she gaped at him, and then quickly closed her mouth.

"You know, if we were a suburban couple."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Bonnie said. The mental image Kai was painting made her feel nauseous. She never wanted to marry anyone like him. He was an ass.

"You totally want it."

"Nope, I'm sixteen Kai. I want a hot boyfriend, not a suburban white picket fence fantasy come real," she replied drily.

"Well let's see, I'm hot. You're hot. We'd make a hot couple."

"Thought you were going to teach me some magic," Bonnie said, sitting up and giving him an exasperated look instead of worrying about trying to come up with a witty reply to his latest nonsense. If Kai wasn't eating, he was talking. Bonnie wasn't sure which habit she found more annoying, although at the moment, she was leaning toward the talking.

"Mebbe," he said, with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "In exchange for a kiss."

"You're as bad as Kol!" she exclaimed. "What did you guys go to the same weekend seminar? How to get a date if your personality sucks?"

"You're not really very nice yourself," Kai returned, rolling his eyes at her.

"Kai, I don't know if you noticed or not, but whenever I say something rude, it's in response to something rude that you've said."

"Nope, that doesn't sound right to me."

"Of course it doesn't. That would be because you're like insane."

"Yeah, but you want me, so what does that make you, Bon?" he asked with that same stupid grin he'd been wearing earlier.

"Oh my God! I give up!" Bonnie announced, throwing her hands up and letting her exasperation with him show. "You're absolutely impossible."

"Some people just can't handle the truth –"

"Okay, I'm just going to cut you off, right now," she said, waving her hand at him. "Since this magic lesson is obviously not happening. Could I maybe look through some of your family's grimoires? I'm kind of bored with mine. What's left of it, a lot of it isn't in English."

"Non-Geminis aren't allowed to touch them," he said, wagging a finger at her. "Sometimes not even Geminis unless they're direct Parker family descendants."

"See this is what I mean about your family being crazy paranoid."

"Tell me about it, Bunny," he said, standing up and bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Lucky for you, dad isn't home."

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah, I really am this awesome," Kai said happily, holding his hand out to her. "I'm telling you, Bunny one day you're going to realize what a catch I am."

"Sure and then hell will freeze over," she answered sweetly.

"C'mon," Kai said, losing patience and lifting her off the ground.

Bonnie kicked him and he put her back down on the ground. Straightening up and brushing off her clothes, she glared at him.

"Won't we get into trouble?"

"Only if we're caught."

"And you're sure that won't happen?"

"Ye have little faith," Kai said, then whistling he wandered off toward the house.

Casting one quick glance at the twins, Bonnie followed him inside. They were fast asleep and would be alright for a couple of minutes alone.

Kai told her to wait outside of his dad's study, he snuck back out with a couple of grimoires.

"You could be a career burglar," Bonnie said. "I can see it now. Petty theft after petty theft until finally you get thrown into jail."

"Is that any way to talk to the guy that is lending you his family's secret heirloom? Risking the wrath of the super powerful coven leader? Completely free of charge? Simply because I am amazing?"

"More like because you are trying to get laid," Bonnie said, snatching one of the books from him. "And thanks by the way," this was said with a genuine smile.

Bonnie started walking back out to the yard, and was relieved to see the twins were still sleeping. All the other siblings had come pouring into the yard as well. Katie, Annie and Joey were playing on the swing set, while Kyle was in a tree, playing his game boy. Bonnie wondered how he got up there, but decided not to ask.

She lay back down on the ground, and propped open the grimoire.

"So if you had to choose, me or Kol?"

"Depends on what for," she muttered, skimming the pages.

"You know…" Kai said, hand trailing down the back of her thigh.

Bonnie turned around and slapped his hand, making him laugh. For some reason even though he had siphoned her earlier, she wasn't afraid of his touch. Maybe it was because she knew he hadn't meant to hurt her, he only wanted it to protect his little sister or maybe she really was going a little crazy. Being stuck in a strange town with a weird family could do that to people.

"I'm going to go with option number three, I'd throw myself off the nearest building."

"What if someone's life was in danger? And you had to do one of us?"

"Trying to figure out if you should threaten me into sleeping with you, Kai?" Bonnie said, looking at him in disgust.

"Nah, I'm creating a hypothetical situation to find out which one of us you want more."

"I'm going to go with cholera."

"Bunny, if you had to choose or someone dies?"

"That's not sex. That's rape with your choice of rapist."

"Okay, fair point. Creepy scenario."

"Uh yeah," Bonnie said, going back to the grimoire.

Kai kept talking, but she didn't listen. Eventually, he gave up and started flipping through the pages of his own grimoire.

 **Thank you so much for the continued support for this fic! This chapter is more bonkai heavy than the others, what do you guys think** **? Leave a review, they make my day! I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr.**

 **Izzy**


	8. Chapter 8

At breakfast, Bonnie didn't miss how Kai's eyes followed her around the room. It was unsettling, and she couldn't meet his gaze. She was too embarrassed. He was the only other person that knew she'd kissed both him and Kol Friday night. She had been avoiding him since reading grimoires with him on Saturday because he had started acting a little too much like it was a date. Which was weird because he knew she had kissed Kol as well the night before.

Bonnie wondered if he knew, she liked kissing them both.

Probably.

Kai like Kol seemed to have the unnerving ability to read her mind. Not something Bonnie wanted him to be able to do. Yet she couldn't stop him.

As they were getting the kids out the door to drive them to kindergarten and school, Bonnie made the mistake of looking up. Her eyes connected with Kai's. She saw heat, and some kind of smug satisfaction in them. Yet his eyes were still cold, still assessing and that made her turn red with embarrassment.

 _Yup, he definitely had a good handle on what had happened the other night._

Bonnie rushed out the door to get away from him. It didn't do much good in the end. It wasn't as if she got any further than the car. That was after they had buckled in Luke and Liv, as well as waiting for the youngest siblings to get in the car.

At least, Bonnie could put in her earplugs and ignore Kai. She stared out the window, and pretended not to notice how he was scrutinizing her in the car mirror.

She hardly noticed as they let off the other Parker kids until Bonnie was left with just Kai and Jo. She still didn't take out her earphones.

In fact, Bonnie left them in when they arrived at school, and she could get out of the car. She rushed ahead of Jo and Kai, ignoring what sounded like Kai laughing at her.

Bonnie was so busy running away from Kai, she didn't see Kol until she ran straight into him.

"Greetings, little witch," Kol said, with a smirk playing on his lips. Bonnie knew what that smirk meant, he was pleased with himself. Arrogant, thinking he had won her or something. She wasn't actually sure what went on his crazy old guy mind, but she was sure she didn't want to know.

"It was just a kiss, it didn't mean anything," she told him, taking the earphones out. "So you can stop smirking at me now."

"Rejected," Kai said, laughing and joining them, he threw his arm around her shoulder. Bonnie flinched. "So Bonster, wanna skip class and make-out under the bleachers?"

"Let go of me," Bonnie said, fighting to stay calm.

"Interesting development," Kol said.

"Might even call it a plot twist," Kai replied.

Weirdly enough, neither one seemed bothered by it.

"What is with the two of you?" Bonnie exclaimed, unable to take the tension any longer. She didn't understand them, and she couldn't keep dealing with them acting crazy on a regular basis.

"What do you mean, Bunny?" Kai asked, giving her an innocent look.

"Ugh," Bonnie groaned. She grabbed his arm and tossed it off her.

She strode toward the school building, ignoring the feel of Kol's eyes drilling holes into the back of her neck. She didn't miss how Jo was dragging Kai along in the opposite direction, or that they were having a furious, whispered conversation.

"Bonnie," Kol said, catching up with her. "Don't be cross."

"I'm not cross," she huffed. "I just want to be left alone. You and Kai somehow manage to be super creepy, and I want no part of it."

"You kissed me."

"It was just a kiss, Kol," she said, turning and looking up at him. "I would think someone as old as you would understand that."

"Yes, I do, you however, are a teenage girl."

"What's your point?"

"I'm surprised you understand that," he said, looking at her with a serious look she couldn't decipher.

"Well I do, and it doesn't have to be a big deal."

"Then it isn't a big deal."

"Let's go to English class," she said, smiling up at him, relieved. This was proving to be less difficult than she anticipated.

"Hey guys," Cassie said brightly joining them.

"Cassie," Bonnie said, grinning.

They hugged. Kol raised eyebrows, a smirk playing on his lips. Bonnie gave him a look, warning him against commenting. Luckily, he didn't.

"I was so bored all weekend," Cassie said, and started chattering.

The conversation was halted by Sean. She didn't notice him much. He was the smallest of the boys that had come out to seek protection from the Gemini coven. Bonnie wasn't sure what she made of him, but with Kol, Kai, Nick, Adam and the Henderson brothers running around, Sean tended to get lost in the crowd.

"Hey Sean," Cassie said grinning.

Kol ignored him, that didn't surprise Bonnie. He seemed to ignore people unless he thought they were worth noticing. Bonnie was beginning to think he was not only arrogant, but a serious elitist. Very American for an ancient vampire.

"Hey girls," Sean said, inching further away from Kol.

Kol snorted, looking amused.

"What's up?" Bonnie said, she was moving toward Kol, putting her hand on his arm. Wanting to make sure he didn't cause trouble because he was looking at Sean now like he was considering snapping his neck. Knowing Kol, he probably was thinking exactly that.

Kol glanced down at her, a surprised smile forming. He wrapped his arm around her waist drawing her to him.

"I was wondering if you – all of you," Sean corrected. "Were going to the bonfire Saturday night."

"What bonfire?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh my God, I forgot to say!" Cassie exclaimed. "Faye and those girls are throwing a bonfire on Saturday night. Supernatural only. Well actually, no. I think that's something they are planning closer to Christmas."

"Isn't that kind of strange?" Bonnie questioned, and without thinking twice about it, she glanced at Kol.

"Witches," was his only reply.

"Don't be like that, Kol. You're welcome too of course," Cassie said, still bright and happy.

"Sounds like fun," Bonnie said when it became apparent Kol wasn't going to answer.

"Are there a lot of supernaturals in Portland?" Kol asked even though she suspected he already knew the answer.

"Some, I'm not really sure," Cassie answered, she looked like she was thinking about it. "Mostly I think it's just the covens."

"You mean, coven," Sean corrected. "The Gemini coven is the only coven in the area."

"So I've heard," Bonnie echoed, she shuddered, remembering something Kai had said to her at the carnival.

"And one lone Bennett witch," Kol said, drawing her closer.

She looked at him. She didn't need to ask. He was reminding her how vulnerable she was. She didn't belong to a coven and her family what little remained of it was scattered across North-America. So different from the Geminis that kept everyone close. The only other person she had outside of that coven, one she didn't even belong to, was Kol.

"And one Original vampire," she whispered, looking up at him.

Being an Original meant Kol wasn't in the same precarious position here. The Geminis might act like Kol was a guest here because they allowed it, but Kai had admitted that wasn't the case. Even Joshua Parker wasn't fool enough to go up against the Original family, not even just one of their members.

Bonnie was beginning to understand why Elijah had told her she might be grateful to have a friend present, one outside of the Geminis. It made her understand why her Grams was okay with Kol staying. If something happened with the Geminis. If Bonnie did something to piss them off or found them too creepy there was someone powerful, who knew the score that she could turn to. Someone that didn't answer to Joshua.

"We might go," Kol said at last, not acknowledging Sean. His eyes were focused on her.

Bonnie was startled because she realized Kol was answering for both of them. As if they were a couple, like the one wouldn't go without the other. Only that wasn't true. Kol wasn't an influence on whether or not she attended a party.

"Let's just go to class," Bonnie said.

All through English class, Bonnie was all too aware of Kol behind her. She could feel him watching her. At the same time, her mind was racing about the conversation she had with Kai on Saturday. What she really wanted was to go home. And the only person that could get her home was Kol.

Sure, she could run away once she had her car back or even just hop on a bus. Except she would have nowhere to go once she finally did arrive in Mystic Falls if she did. She could hide out with Matt for a little while, but eventually her dad, her Grams or even the Sheriff's department would find her. It wasn't a permanent solution.

What Bonnie needed, was for the prophecy to change.

That thought continued to plague Bonnie. By then, she knew what she needed to do to convince Kol to find a way to get her back to Mystic Falls. So when the bell rang, she took Kol's hand, and when he smirked at her, she smiled up at him.

"What are you up to, little witch?" he whispered in her ear.

"Nothing," she answered innocently, keeping her smile in place. "Walk me to my locker?" she asked, tugging on his hand.

"Certainly," he answered, and he looked amused.

He held her hand, and she could feel how he watched her. She wasn't looking at him as they walked, but she knew he was watching her, studying her. Probably trying to figure out why she changed her mind so quickly.

Reaching her locker, Bonnie turned around, and leaned her back against it. She pulled on Kol's hand, bringing him closer. He didn't need much encouragement, he brought his hand to the back of her neck, massaging, touching his forehead to hers, lips ghosting over hers as they breathed into each other.

"Should I cloak us?" she whispered, heart pounding so hard it felt like it might jump out of her chest.

She hadn't taken this into account in her plan. Hadn't expected to be as affected by Kol's presence as she was. It was embarrassing and stupid, but he was making heat flare up in her.

He grazed his lips over hers, almost but not quite kissing her.

"Thought it was a one-time thing," he murmured.

His teeth nipped at her bottom lip, making her gasp.

"Let's make it a two-time thing," she teased, tugging on the necklace he wore.

"What are you up to, little witch?" he whispered in her ear, making Bonnie shiver.

"I want to go home," she said, turning her face into his.

"So that's what you're after. You're staying right here."

"Kol, this is your fault," she pushed at him, making him laugh. "The least you can do is send me back home. I don't want to be here!" she demanded angrily.

Realizing she was about two seconds from starting to scream in the school hallway, Bonnie cloaked them.

"You're rather eager to die for someone so young."

"I don't like it here!" she exclaimed.

"Too bad, you're staying put," he said, smirking.

"KOL!"

"Too bad, darling," he replied, still smirking.

 _Bastard_ , Bonnie thought.

"I just want to go home. Please help me," she said, making her eyes big and sad, hoping that would soften him.

It didn't.

"I'm not helping you kill yourself."

"What do you want?"

"I'm not negotiating with you, besides, I've already made a deal with Sheila. You're too late."

"There has to be something you want," she said, taking his hand and lacing their fingers together, pulling it to her so it rested against her chest.

"Can't have that if you're dead," Kol replied with a lazy lascivious smile that made her stomach do a flip.

"Fine," she huffed, snatching her hand back.

Quickly, she uncloaked them, hoping no one would notice how they disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the hallway.

"Don't be cross," he said, putting his hands on her hips. He pressed her back up against the locker and rested his forehead to hers.

"Kol don't," she muttered, turning red and feeling herself grow too hot.

"Don't what?" he asked, looking far too innocent for her to believe he was up to anything good.

Bonnie thought about using her magic to throw him across the hallway, like Jo had shown her last night. Except she didn't think she could throw something quite that heavy, even if she did somehow manage to tear her gaze away from him.

"You know what," she said, giving him an exasperated look.

"Perhaps," he said with a wicked smile.

"I'm pretty sure I've warned the two of you about PDA at school before," the almost but not quite amused voice of Alaric Saltzman broke in.

Kol growled, and turned his death stare on him. Bonnie took his hand, and tugged on it. Pulling him back to her. He shot her a look, and she exhaled, knowing he wasn't about to kill their teacher.

"Sorry Mister Saltzman," Bonnie said, grimacing.

"Go away," Kol growled. "And if you interrupt us again, I'll tear out your tongue."

"Kol!" Bonnie said, hitting his arm.

"Hush, darling," he said, not taking his eyes off the teacher. "Understood?"

Alaric nodded.

"Good, now go away."

Mr. Saltzman left, walking away slowly.

Bonnie exhaled, and closed her eyes, leaning back against the locker.

"You can't just 'shush' me whenever you want to. It's rude," she complained, eyes still closed. If she kept them closed, she could pretend not to notice how Kol was leaning against her body. He put his one hand against the locker by her head, and the other one was resting on her hip. She could feel his breath and she knew that meant his lips were a mere inch from hers.

"Is it?" Kol asked, and she could hear the teasing in his voice. "Give me a kiss, Bon-Bon," he whispered, lips grazing hers.

"Don't want to," she turned her head to the side.

"Want to go for a ride? I'll let you drive," he said in a voice filled with sinful temptation.

"We have class," Bonnie said, opening her eyes to look at him.

Kol's lips were twisted into a sardonic smile, but his eyes were cold, impassive. They were scrutinizing her, and the predatory look made a shiver run down her spine.

"Let's ditch it."

"Tempting," she confessed, and it was. She didn't normally like driving, but now that she was here without a car, she missed it. Not to mention, Kol's Ferrari was incredible.

"Then let me make the offer even better," he breathed in her ear, and Bonnie couldn't help the way her body immediately reacted to his nearness. "We go for a drive and then I take you to lunch. At a nice restaurant."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Bonnie replied, unable to keep from laughing. "That sounds too much like a date to me."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," he murmured, nipping at her earlobe. She gasped. "Afterwards, we can go back to my place."

"Ah, yes, I have always wanted to see a real live dungeon."

"Cute," he retorted, but he was laughing. "If that's what you think I live in, I definitely need to get you to come home with me."

"And yet, no matter what a smooth talker you are, that is never going to happen," Bonnie said, patting his chest.

"I'll have you yet, little witch," he said in a husky voice.

Bonnie had no doubt in her mind he meant it, but she meant her words too. Kol could be as charming as he liked, that did not mean he was going to get her to come home with him.

"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes. "But I will take you up on that drive."

"Beginning to think you like my car more than me," he said playfully.

"Only because I do," Bonnie said with a dazzling smile.

Taking his hand, she began to drag him toward the parking lot.

Bonnie could hardly contain herself when Kol handed her the keys to the Ferrari, and she got in the driver's side. Starting the engine, she sped out of the school parking lot.

"You like speed, do you, little witch?" Kol remarked.

"Totally. You should see my Toyota, it is nothing like this," she grinned.

"Is that the same teacher that keeps trying to give me warnings?"

"Uh yeah, how can you not have noticed?"

"Mortals don't interest me much," he replied carelessly. "Except him, he's getting to be quite tiresome. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's noticed that you can't keep your hands off me. Or that you were scaring me that time in the hallway."

"You're a witch, darling. I wouldn't harm you."

"Totally believable," she said sarcastically.

"Then why are you in my car?"

"Driving this thing is totally worth the risk."

"Perhaps I should just kill him," Kol said thoughtfully.

"Sure, and then I give Elijah a call."

"As long as I don't massacre the whole school, I doubt he'll be too distraught about –" he stopped talking for a moment and then cursed. "He isn't compelled."

"Who isn't compelled? Mr. Saltzman?" Bonnie said, pulling over along the side of the road. "How do you know that? He looked compelled to me."

"Because that time under the stairwell, I told him not to bother us again. If he'd truly been compelled, he wouldn't have interrupted us again today."

"Oh my God, so he's on vervain? Why would he be on vervain? You're literally the only vampire in the state."

"Perhaps he doesn't know that."

"Alright, so he's a guy that knows about vampires. He hasn't made a move and he hasn't tried to come after you. Maybe he just drinks vervain tea to be on the safe side?"

"No, little witch. In a thousand years the only people I've encounter that ingest vervain or wear it on them, know about us, and those that know, they're always up to something."

"C'mon, always? Maybe you're just paranoid?" Bonnie countered, looking at him in exasperation.

"I can assure you, he is up to something. If you like we can even find out what he is up to before I murder him."

"Please don't kill Mr. Saltzman, he is such a good teacher and if you'd seen my last history teacher you would understand," Bonnie said speaking without thinking. "Actually, I shouldn't say stuff like that about Mr. Tanner, he's dead. I think Damon killed him."

"Salvatores," he snorted. "The two of them cause nothing but trouble wherever they go. Even more when they're together."

"Stefan isn't so bad."

"For the time being. He's a ripper."

"Which is?"

"A vampire who can't control the bloodlust. Just the whiff of blood or the pounding of a heart can be enough to set a ripper off. They drink uncontrollably until the body is dry. Stefan Salvatore is known for feeding so hard the neck severs from the body," Kol explained, watching her out of the corner of her eye. Taking in the miniscule details of how her body reacted to his story, the raising of goosebumps on her arms, the shiver that ran down her spine, and he smirked. "He's gained some control for now, but it won't last. It never does with rippers."

"How do you know?"

"Because he was Rebekah's ex until Klaus compelled him to forget her."

"So vampires can be compelled?"

"Only by Originals," this was accompanied by an arrogant smirk.

"Okay, creepy, but makes sense. Your blood created vampires, right?"

"Correct, one point to the little witch. Care to collect your reward?"

"No," she said flatly. "Elena would have been in danger with Stefan? He could lose control?"

"Yes," Kol said. "He drinks animal blood or something now. It won't last. There isn't enough power in it, not to mention, I can't imagine the taste is pleasant."

"Because I'm sure human blood is yummy," Bonnie said sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised. I've met more than one witch or human over the years that have enjoyed the taste of vampire blood."

"Okay, back up and explain," she demanded.

"Vampires that feed from their lovers, they often heal them –"

"Yeah, okay, but why then do you leave corpses behind all the time?"

"We don't always care to. Depends on what the person means to us. And well, more than one has enjoyed the taste of blood. Of power."

"Still gross," she said, screwing up her face into a grimace. "Go back to the school, love. I want to find out what Mr. Saltzman is up to."

"Are you going to kill him?"

"If you're that worried, join me," he said with a wicked smile.

"I will, and if you try to kill him, I'll set you on fire."

"Big talk, little witch," he remarked.

Bonnie ignored him and turned the car around. The drive back to the school felt a lot longer than when they'd been leaving. She parked the car and grabbed Kol's arm the second she was out of the car.

"Don't you dare ditch me using vampire speed," she warned holding on to his wrist.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kol said. He intertwined their fingers instead. "See, now isn't that better?"

"Don't read too much into it," she grumbled as they walked back into the school building. "Do you know where to find him?"

"I was thinking I'd start by following his scent."

"The whole vampires smell people thing is pretty gross."

"Depends on who you smell," he winked at her.

"Be more disgusting, I dare you."

"Don't you start, love. I've had to smell Kai on you all day. His scent is all over you."

"So? We live in the same house."

"Sure there some Jo from sharing her room, but not like his. Don't think I don't know how he's been after you."

"You're jealous, big whoop. You don't get to be jealous. You aren't my boyfriend."

"Why are you holding my hand then?" he countered.

"So you don't vampire run away. You have a listening problem," Bonnie said as they reached Mr. Saltzman's office.

"He drinks you know," Kol remarked. "Can smell it on him."

"Great, you're going to kill our boozy history teacher. Seems kind of low even by your standards."

"And what exactly do you know about my standards?"

"That they are low," she stated, rolling her eyes at him.

"Tough talk for a girl that's holding my hand," he chuckled.

Kol didn't knock, he simply threw the door to the office open. He pulled Bonnie inside before she had a chance to register what happened, and slammed the door shut behind them.

"What the hell?" Mr. Saltzman exclaimed.

"Draw the drapes, Bonnie," Kol said.

"Do it yourself."

"Bonnie, do as your told. Otherwise, who knows who will see us in here?"

"You mean like me?" Kai said, grinning manically as he poked his head in the room before entering.

Bonnie groaned and closed the drapes using magic. A variation of the motus spell Jo had taught her.

"What are you all doing in my office?" Mr. Saltzman repeated.

"Well I for one, saw Bonnie and Kol leave campus before suddenly returning," Kai said. "I don't know what they're doing in here."

"I want a straight answer or I'm giving all of you detention."

"Why are you on vervain?" Kol asked, head tilted to the side as he studied the teacher.

Bonnie shivered, she knew that look. He was looking at Mr. Saltzman like he was prey.

"Just tell him the truth and he won't kill you," Bonnie said.

"Why am I on what?" Mr. Saltzman sputtered.

Mr. Saltzman pulled out a bow and arrow. He shot, and in seconds, Kol had grabbed the arrow, thrown it to the floor and vampire ran forward to grab Mr. Saltzman by the throat, raising him out of his chair.

"Let's try that again," Kol said.

Kai locked the door.

"Do you know what we are?" Kai asked, gesturing to himself and to Bonnie.

"Students," he rasped. "You're a vampire," he hissed at Kol, who dropped him.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked, rushing to his side and helping him sit up on the floor.

"I'm fine," he said, brushing aside her attempts to help him. "What have you done to her?" he demanded of Kol.

"Nothing," Kol said innocently. "How do you know what I am?"

"You tried to compel me."

"Dude, you seriously need to pay more attention to people," Kai said, snorting derisively.

"Oh, you're one to talk," Bonnie muttered. "How do you know about vampires, Mr. Saltzman?"

"My wife was killed by one."

"See he isn't up to anything! It's just a precaution!" she said to Kol.

"I highly doubt that," he snorted. "If you think his wife was killed by a vampire and that he doesn't harbor ill will toward us all, you really are young, darling."

"Hey!" she exclaimed, insulted.

"I'm serious. Live a few more years and see if you still think that," he replied arrogantly.

"Aw, it's cute how innocent you are, Bunny," Kai said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well if the two of you think I'm going to let you kill our history teacher, Kol you're the ones that need to think again."

"I could siphon your magic. Leave you half-dead, but that seems cruel," Kai said, looking at her in an assessing way.

A shiver ran down her spine, but she refused to let her fear show.

"I'd advise against that, mate," Kol said, turning those unflinching eyes of his on Kai.

"Just a suggestion," Kai said innocently. "But I gotta say, Kol that's showing more humanity than me."

"You're not human, not really," Kol remarked.

"Hey, I count as human," Bonnie protested.

"Not what I meant," he said, rolling his eyes. "Isn't that so, Kai?"

"He doesn't like Geminis," Kai said in a mock undertone to Bonnie.

"The star sign?" Mr. Saltzman said.

"Nah, the coven," Kai said. "Ops, now we have to kill him for sure."

"No!" Bonnie snapped. "There has to be a way around it, there has to be!"

"I suppose," Kol said slowly and thoughtfully. "I could drain the vervain from his system and return him. Care to help, mate?"

"Sounds like fun," Kai agreed.

"I'm coming," Bonnie said quickly.

"Nuh-huh, Bunny," Kai said, wagging a finger at her. "No Bennett witches on this one."

"Why not?"

"Because they're going to hurt me, and I don't think there's anything you can do about it," Mr. Saltzman said, sounding resigned.

Mr. Saltzman stood up and got out a bottle of what looked like bourbon to Bonnie from his desk drawer. One of those old man drinks at any rate.

"Seriously?" Kai said. "I knew this school was shitty, but how do you still have a job?"

"Nothing in the school rules that say I can't have a drink after the students have left," Alaric said.

"And it's the good stuff," Kol remarked. "Run along to class, Bonnie."

"No," she said, crossing her arms and looking up at him stubbornly.

"Seriously kid, beat it before they turn on you too," Mr. Saltzman said.

"If I leave they'll kill you," she said. "Kol, you wouldn't hurt me, would you?"

"I've told you, I don't hurt pretty little witches. As for him, we'll do that anyway if we are going to," Kol assured her. When all she did was stare at him in exasperation, he sighed. "Very well then. Have it your way, stay for the show, darling."

"Don't come crying to me, Bunny when you realize you got yourself in over your head."

"Nobody in their right mind would ever cry to either one of you about anything, especially not you, Kai," Bonnie snapped.

"Ouch," Kai said and laughed.

XXX

Kol looked between Bonnie and Kai as he decided how to handle the teacher. Their scents were all over each other, indicative that they had grown closer over the weekend. Yet for someone that claimed to want in Bonnie's pants, Kai had been remarkably quick to turn on her. When Kai had frightened her, it had been him she turned to. Just as now, it was him she came to stand beside. Maybe she sensed that Kai was a different kind of a monster. One that would kill Bonnie even if he fancied her if it suited him, unlike Kol. He could always find another way to restrain her.

Kol supposed he could eliminate Kai as competition once and for all by simply killing him, except that would be bad for Bonnie. It would mean she would get caught between him and the Geminis, and that was a dangerous place to put a girl he had given his word he would protect. Not to mention, then she would return to good old Mystic Falls where she would die. And what good was she to him dead?

In the long run, it was smarter to let Kai live.

"We're going to have to drain his blood," Kol said.

"Can't you just let the vervain leave his system?" she demanded.

"I told you to go to class," Kol growled. "We're not killing him. Stay out of it, little witch."

"No!" she snapped for what had to be the hundredth time by now. "I am not leaving you alone to do whatever the hell it is you're going to do him. You don't get to torture our history teacher."

"Sure we do," Kai countered with a manic grin.

"He's not a vampire, what's going on with that?" she murmured to Kol.

"You do not want to know."

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Trust him, Bunny you don't want to know."

The three of them were so busy bickering that none of them noticed Alaric threw the window open and disappeared through it. Kai swore. Kol was about to flash after him, but Bonnie acted quickly, giving him an aneurism.

Kai was opening the door and she motused it shut. To do that, she had to stop the spell she was casting on Kol.

In the second it took for her to do that, Kol was blocking her way, fangs bared and hissing at her. She took a step back, having never pushed him like this before. She didn't know what to do.

"Truce, little witch?" Kol growled.

Bonnie was forced to agree they were at an impasse. Going up against an Original vampire on her own, didn't strike her as the best idea.

"Yes."

Kol's face went back to normal immediately.

"I've frightened you."

"What do you think?" she said, glaring at him. "Why are you always trying to scare me?"

"If you were anyone else, you would be dead by now. Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be alive?"

"Whatever, just leave me alone," she said in a tired voice.

"Don't make a fuss."

"I don't care. Just leave me alone," Bonnie said walking away.

That was how she noticed Kai was gone.

 _Shit, she had forgotten about him and Mr. Saltzman._

She was so wrapped up in her argument with Kol, she forgot the reason for it.

"I can hear Kai shouting and swearing in the parking lot, it would seem you succeeded, little witch."

"Mr. Saltzman got away?" she asked hopefully.

"He did."

"Good," she grinned in spite of the dark look she was getting from Kol.

"Let's hope you don't regret this later."

"You can't die, what do you care if he got away?"

"Because men like him can become tiresome rather quickly. The best solution is to get rid of them as soon as possible."

"You're evil."

"Stop stating the obvious, little witch."

"No, I think you need to hear it."

Bonnie strode down the hallway. To her annoyance, he couldn't take a hint, following along.

Kai came toward them and he looked furious murderous even.

"What the hell, Bonnie?" he demanded stopping only when he towered over her.

 **Lots of reactions to the last chapter and there's definitely some stuff going on that has Bonnie kind of leaning towards Kol at least for the time being Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter. What about Alaric and what about Kai and Kol? Thank you for the continued support! I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to leave me a request for Kennett or bonkai.**

 **Izzy**


	9. Chapter 9

***Disclaimer: Because it's been a while. I don't own TVD or the Secret Circle, obvs***

Bonnie had barely made it out of the door before Kai ported back inside. He must have had some of Jo's magic in his system. With a furious expression he stalked toward her. On instinct, Bonnie took a step back only to remember Kol was behind her.

A prickle of fear ran down her spine. She was alone with two psychos, one of whom was livid.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Kai roared.

"What was I supposed to do? Let you two psychos torture him?"

"YES!"

Kai reached for her, but Kol caught his arm. He pushed Kai back and flashed between her and the warlock. It happened so fast, Bonnie took a step back in surprise.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate," Kol cautioned.

"So what, you're the only one that gets to threaten me?" Bonnie demanded feeling anger burn away her fear.

"Do not act like I started that little tiff, love," Kol said without turning around.

"Interesting development," Kai said eyes narrowing in suspicion as he surveyed Bonnie. "What did you do to her, _mate_?" this was said mockingly to Kol as his eyes went to the vampire.

"She's not your concern," Kol growled.

"And _she_ is leaving," Bonnie hissed having had more than enough of being spoken to like she wasn't present.

Bonnie didn't wait to hear what else they had to say. Annoyed with both of them she walked at a brisk pace until she reached the girls' bathroom.

She stayed on her phone checking Instagram until the bell signaling the end of the lunch period.

Bonnie was leaving the bathroom when she saw Kol was leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

"Go away. I don't want to deal with you or Kai right now."

"I came to make up. That is as in kiss and make up, not the cosmetics," Kol said, following her to her third period class.

"Is that you were hovering outside of the girls' room instead of coming inside like the creepy pervert you are?"

"Since we're trading our usual insults or should I say, you are. Does that mean we're good little witch?"

"Since my head is still attached to my body, I guess we are," she agreed grudgingly.

"Good, now give me a kiss, love," Kol said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her against his side.

"We're not that cool," Bonnie said, pushing on him and only succeeding in making him laugh.

When they reached her class she turned to say goodbye to Kol. Only to find him staring at her with heat in his hazel eyes and a mischievous smile on his face. She bit down on her lower lip to keep from groaning in exasperation.

Kol predictably enough, tried to kiss her. Bonnie turned her head to the side quickly. She'd been expecting him to try something like that and it made it easier to avoid him, not to fall for his obvious charms. It also helped that she just spent lunch break with him and during that brief window of time she'd seen the monster that lurked underneath the charming facade. Frighteningly enough, she'd seen the same thing with Kai.

Bonnie was more than a little relieved they didn't have third period together because it meant she got to ditch Kol and Kai for the rest of the day. Neither one of them, especially not Kol had any excuse to pester her or follow her around the way he liked to do.

Cassie was already in class and she smiled at Bonnie, who sat down in front of her. On her other side of her was T.J., he was one of the football players. She had said hi to him a couple of times before and after cheerleading practice because it coincided with their training times.

"What are you girls doing on Friday?" T.J. asked, grinning at Bonnie.

He was cute in that wholesome way Matt was. Nice, normal and entirely without darkness and danger. A refreshing change to the guys that had been after Bonnie recently, he sort of reminded her of Brad, the guy she'd lost her virginity to at a party last summer. It wasn't very romantic and Bonnie was sort of regretting that decision, but they'd gone out for a while afterwards all the same.

"What are we doing, Bonnie?" Cassie asked, looking to her with a mischievous smile.

"I think we were just going to hang out," Bonnie said. "Why?"

"Well some of the guys, we're going over to Jamie's on Friday and I thought maybe you'd like to come? I know Todd would love to go with you Cassie."

"Sure," Cassie agreed, and she sent a zap of magic through Bonnie to get her to agree.

"We'd love to," Bonnie said, giving Cassie a dirty look.

"Great, I'll text you the details, Bon."

"Sure."

When T.J. turned away, Bonnie hit Cassie's arm.

"That hurt," she hissed at her friend.

"I know, I'm sorry!"

"You're impossible! And you owe me!"

XXX

Kai was in class, feet on his desk. Jo was at the front with one of her friends, the nerdy one. He had never bothered to learn her name because she wasn't hot. Kol was on his other side, staring at the ceiling he appeared bored.

"Some bloke just asked Bonnie out," he said quietly and out of the blue.

Kai realized then the other guy wasn't bored, he was eavesdropping.

 _Damn, he'd like to have vampire hearing, bet it's handy._

Still, it was better to be a warlock, at least it would be if he had real powers.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"What do you think?" Kol replied with an evil smirk.

"Sounds like fun," Kai agreed, already feeling the bloodlust coming to the surface.

He and Kol weren't the sort to stay at odds just because they'd argued. Kai only held grudges toward the people that really pissed him off. Kol hadn't done that, at least not yet. For the time being the two of them were having too much fun tearing off heads and terrorizing the other kids at school. Not that Bonnie or his sister Jo, had any idea they were doing all of these things. Kai had never had a friend that liked hurting people as much as he did and it was refreshing to have someone he didn't have to hide his true self from.

"Friday, before their date," Kai said. "It'll leave Bonnie without plans."

"Sounds fun," Kol agreed, and he could tell by the look on the vampire's face that he was contemplating all the ways they could hurt the guy.

XXX

When Bonnie met up with Kai at his car to go home for the day, he acted like nothing had ever happened. It seemed like that Jo told her this weekend was true. If she left him alone for a few hours after an argument, he was fine. She thought it was weird, but it was easier to deal with than talking to Kai so she was willing to take it.

"Where's Jo?" he asked.

"I don't know. I thought she was with you."

"Well you thought wrong, Bunny," he said winking at her. "Oh, look here she is now with Nora."

"Go to hell, Kai," Nora said.

"Hey, look someone else that likes you as much as I do," Bonnie said grinning at Kai.

"Charming as always, Nora," Kai said, getting in the driver's side. "Let's go."

Bonnie was beginning to think Kai wielded his status as driver to hold everyone else hostage to his whims. She was seriously missing her car.

"Who's Nora?" Bonnie asked as she got in the backseat.

"Evil," Kai said.

"More evil than you?"

"The only girl at school except you who is immune to Kai's charms," Jo said.

"Bonster here isn't as immune as she'd have you believe, sissy."

"What?"

"Ignore him. He lies," Bonnie said, trying not to do that thing she did where she laughed nervously because she was the one lying.

Kai smirked, but turned up the music too loud for conversation, something Bonnie appreciated. Still, it was a little strange becaue Kai never stopped talking unless he was plotting something. Though he didn't look like he was scheming to her as she watched him tap the steering wheel in time with the music and sing along. Maybe he was just a jerk.

A jerk, who needed to listen to something other than 90's grunge rock or punk or whatever it was. Bonnie would have complained except Jo liked it as much as her brother.

All the Parker siblings did, she discovered when they picked the rest of the kids up.

Kyle did the whole 'cool guy' thing where he imitated Kai and tried to check subtly if Bonnie was looking. She was starting to worry he was crushing on her and if he was, she hoped it passed fast. Like in a day or two.

Bonnie was relieved when they got back to the house because Kyle had actually winked at her at one point. Clearly, he was crushing on her and she needed to nip it in the bud before things got awkward. Or should she say, more uncomfortable than things already were in the Parker household.

She helped Jo wrangle the twins out of their car seats. Liv was sleeping and Luke was chatting or singing. Bonnie really had no idea because he was only two and still spoke only a little and on top of it all, he spoke with a lisp. So really, it was just more like baby talk.

Kai went to make lunch, while the kids sat down at the table to do their homework. Bonnie and Jo went to the living room with the twins. They were going to practice magic. The high school students always did their homework later in the evening. Except for Kai, who was in the habit of turning in invisible homework and used spells to get all A's. He could always be seen reading grimoires and taking notes in the evenings.

"What do you want to work on?" Jo asked as she lay Liv down in the playpen to nap. She cast a quick silencing spell so the toddler wouldn't be disturbed by them.

Luke was toddling around on his chubby little legs, still awake after a long day.

"I don't know. Do you have something you want to work on?"

"Hm," Jo said, looking thoughtful. "I might have an idea."

"Jo, I need help with my homework and Kai is ignoring me again," Joey complained.

"I'll be right back."

Feeling bored, Bonnie began to levitate the pillows on the couch. Luke stopped walking and stared at it with big eyes. Then he clapped his hands and stomped his feet, hopping in place as he grinned.

"Magic!" he laughed and pointed.

"Yeah, magic," Bonnie agreed, relieved that for once she knew with certainty what he was saying. When he spoke in single words, it was fine, it was when he tried to say more than one word at a time he was hard to understand.

"Do you like magic?"

"Who doesn't?" Kai said, sitting down next to her on the floor.

"Shouldn't you be cooking?" she said, glaring at him.

"Nah, it's soup. It'll be fine."

"Uh-huh," she was leery around him after the way he'd charged at her earlier.

"That's a parlor trick, want to see some real magic?" Kai said speaking to her, completely overlooking Lukas.

"I guess."

And without waiting for permission, Kai grabbed her arm siphoning her magic. She gasped, it felt like she was being burned as the magic was pulled from her. She would have screamed except she didn't want to scare Lukas.

"Thanks Bunny."

"Not like you gave me a choice."

"Would you rather I take his?" he said, shooting a dark look at the toddler.

"No, but you could have asked."

"I find it's easier to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission."

"I would have said, 'yes'," she told him with a cold look.

"Duly noted, Bonster," Kai said chipper as always. "You know to be honest –"

"Are you capable of that?"

"I'm a little disappointed your name isn't Buffy like when I heard dad talking to Sheila about you. I thought hey, Buffy that would be hot, then I was like Bunny is also good –"

"What do you mean? What were they saying?"

"Nothing. Grams was pleading with dear old dad to take you. Gotta say, Bunny you're almost paranoid enough to pass for a Gemini."

"Like I am joining your creepy coven with its insane rituals."

"Don't let dad catch you saying that," Kai winked at her and she rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, I've got some hot magic for a hot girl."

"That is the lamest line I've ever heard."

Kai said an incantation in Latin. It was spoken quickly and confidently. The next instant the living room was in complete darkness and then there was a big burst of light. Right below the ceiling there was a blanket of soft flames.

"Pretty," Bonnie said trying to sound impressed. "But it's still just a parlor trick."

"Tough crowd," Kai chuckled. "Incendia luminous."

The lights changed to be soft glowing fairy lights. Lukas was laughing and clapping his chubby little hands.

"Do you like the lights, Lukas?" Bonnie asked.

He nodded and laughed some more.

"You try," Kai said and with a wave of his hand the lights were gone.

"What did you say? Incendia luminous?" even as she said the words hesitantly, she could feel the magic course through her.

The ceiling lit up with fairy lights, only hers were an ethereal shade of blue.

"Why blue?"

"I don't know. I was wondering if you could do it in other colors and I guess you can," Bonnie said with a bright smile.

"Light spells?" a voice in the doorway questioned.

"Grams?" Bonnie said, getting up and hurrying over to give her a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't think you'd been abandoned, did you honey?"

"Yeah, I did! You said you would be back up in a day or two, it's been more than a week!"

"I know, I'm sorry, honey, but I got caught up in that damned weapon. I want it finished as soon as possible. Kol gave me some very detailed notes."

"Elijah mentioned it's going well."

"It is," Sheila said and the pursed set of her lips, told Bonnie that was all she was going to say on the subject, at least for now. "Hello Malachai."

"It's just Kai," he corrected with a teasing air that Bonnie was sure was an act, even if she couldn't put her finger on why that was. "Who names a baby Malachai? It's like they expected me to be evil."

"Malachai is a villain name?" Bonnie asked with a raised eyebrow and skepticism heavy in her voice.

"Totally," Kai confirmed, drawing the word out.

"Where is Joshua?" Sheila asked.

"Where he always is, not here," Kai answered.

"Who looks after the kids?" Sheila questioned, all but gasping in surprise. The disapproval was heavy in her voice.

"We do," Bonnie admitted.

"Hm," Sheila's lips tightened into a thin line that usually meant she didn't approve and was fighting not to say something she shouldn't. "Might be just as well as Kol is outside."

"Kol's here?" Bonnie said genuinely shocked.

"Got here when I did. Elijah must have told him I was coming up, speaking of which," she handed Bonnie a set of car keys.

"Oh my God, you brought my Toyota!" Bonnie exclaimed happily, a wide grin spreading.

"I thought you might miss it."

"I did, thank you so much!" she hugged Sheila again.

"Go on then, go see your boyfriend, Bunny."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Does that mean I am?" Kai asked with faux innocence and surprise as he pointed to his own chest.

"I'd rather die of cholera."

"Cholera thing is getting stale, Bonster."

"Fine, I'd melt your face off before I'd be your girlfriend."

"Is that why you kissed me?"

Sheila fixed Bonnie with a look that was so intense that she wanted to sink through the floor. Instead, she let out an angry, frustrated shriek.

"Jo, watch the twins," Bonnie called as she stormed outside.

The red Ferrari that Kol drove was parked next to her Toyota Hybrid, it really did put her practical little mint green car to shame. Kol was lying on the hood of his Ferrari, eyes closed lazily and a smirk on his lips. Bonnie lay down next to him.

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"Yes."

"Huh, stupid vampire hearing," she muttered.

"Who do you prefer?" he didn't sound jealous only curious.

"Neither."

"Come on, love I won't tell," Kol turned his head to the side to flash her a mischievous smile.

"Honestly, Kol I don't like either of you. Who I prefer really depends on who is being less psycho at any given time."

"I think in time, little witch you'll find I am far less psycho. Call me the lesser of two evils."

"You talk less, you've got that going for you."

Kol chuckled. Surprising her, he reached out and took her hand. It was such an oddly gentle and normal gesture for him, she was shocked enough she let him intertwine their fingers. Normally, Kol was aggressive and pushy when he tried to touch her and this was the complete opposite.

Once again, she found herself wondering what the hell was going on. She had never lacked for attention, but she was used to taking the backseat to Caroline and Elena, she never minded. However, here in Portland she was getting so much attention from Kai and Kol, who were both jerks still it was making her head spin. It made her wonder what was going on and even what they saw in her. Probably a potential lay, if she had to guess.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was bored and I heard Sheila was on her way. She's making progress on the dagger."

"You Originals are like totally obsessed with this thing. What makes Klaus any worse than the rest of you?"

"If you knew my brother, you wouldn't be asking me that."

"He can't possibly be worse than you, seriously. You've only been here a week and you've already killed twenty people."

"Fifteen," he corrected. "Cheeky girl."

"Isn't this cozy," Kai said strolling over, shrugging and grinning manically and yet somehow also sarcastically.

"Where's Grams?" Bonnie asked.

"Inside with Jo and the brats."

Bonnie's eyes widened when she saw what Kai did next. He said something she didn't quite catch in Latin and he was floating. He lay down on his back, sighing and stretching, making a show of relaxed he was.

"Show off," Kol said sounding unimpressed. He had probably seen it before over the centuries.

"Neat trick," Bonnie said.

"Be nice and I'll teach you how."

"I can always ask Jo."

"She doesn't know it. She spends so much time looking after the brats, her magic suffers. What a waste of someone with their own powers."

"It's only a trick. I wouldn't be too impressed were I you, little witch. I've seen far more powerful things over the years," Kol said rolling his eyes. "Any witch or warlock with half a brain can teach you that spell."

"Don't listen to him, Bunny. You and I both know witches and warlocks are the superior ones."

"You're both exhausting."

She got off the hood of the car and went to find her Grams, ignoring their complaints for her to come back.

XXX

"What are you really doing here?" Kol heard Kai pose the question, a little dimly.

He was preoccupied with wondering exactly what it was that drove Bonnie away this time.

"Thought we had a rival to kill?"

"Let's get out of here," Kai agreed with a smirk.

Not for the first time, Kol found himself thinking how very wrong or off Kai was for a human, almost as if by nature he should rightfully be a vampire.

T.J. they discovered was home alone. Kai used magic to open the locked backdoor and Kol heard the rest of his family pull up in the car. It made him smirk.

XXX

She couldn't stay long. She had dinner with the Parkers minus Joshua and Kai. After supper, she and Bonnie sat down on the porch with each their cup of tea, chamomile with honey.

"How are things back home?"  
"Nothing out of the ordinary. I have to get back because of my lessons, but I'll be out again in a week or two, hopefully your dad will be out with me."

"When do I get to go back?" Bonnie asked, feeling her angry and stubborn side begin to emerge.

"It's complicated."

"Of course, it is."

"Bonnie Bennett your life is worth protecting. I won't have you getting yourself killed for a bunch of ungrateful friends!"

"They're my friends and they need my help."

"No, what they need is to stay away from vampires, and what you need is to stay put."

"That'll be a bit harder to do now that I have my car back."

"Please, child do you think something as simple as a car is all it takes to get past Joshua Parker and _me_?"

"This is totally a hostage situation," she complained.

"No, it's not. You're underage and your father consented to you living here."

"Sneaky," she grumbled.

"How do you like it here?"

"It's weird, but alright I guess."

"Alright?" Sheila asked her voice as sharp as her eyes. "Bonnie honey, this isn't to hurt you."

"No, but I wasn't exactly given a choice."

"None of us were, no good one at least. How are things with the kids?"

"Stressful, but I can't complain. It's the hardest on Jo, I just try to help out."

"And Kai does he help?"

"No, he does the opposite, but at least he cooks. I kind of think he only does because he's always hungry."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Sheila said, snorting. "How's school? Are you making friends?"

Bonnie told her about Cassie and the cheerleading team.

She drove her Grams to the airport. By the time Bonnie got home, it was past midnight and Kai was still gone. She just hoped he wasn't out helping Kol perpetrate more murders or being an eyewitness to them, more accurately. Though, what she witnessed with Mr. Saltzman earlier that day, did make her doubt Kai's innocence. Kol had certainly been adamant that he only committed fifteen murders, not all twenty. She was beginning to think maybe she should talk to Kol again.

XXX

The next day at school she walked to history with Kol, they were the first ones there.

"Do you think Alaric is stupid enough to show? I could always kill him in front of everyone, make a real spectacle out of it."

"And then I'll set you on fire," Bonnie answered with a simpering smile.

"Hm, sounds hot, little witch," Kol said with a dark gleam in his eye as he leaned over his desk to look at her. He was teasing and deliberately using modern phrasing, he had to be doing it in an attempt to ruffle her calm, force her to admit she was attracted to him.

"What happened with Mr. Saltzman yesterday, how far would Kai have gone to find out if he was a threat?"

"As far as I would have, and I don't believe you will care for the answer to your next question, love."

Bonnie decided in that instant that she didn't want to know how far they would have gone. If Kol found it gruesome enough he didn't want to tell her, she didn't want to know. Thing about Kol was that he didn't waste time trying to hide what a monster he was, he didn't always show her outright, but he didn't bother lying about it either. If he thought it would upset her to find out, then she so did not want to know.

"Okay," she said gathering her thoughts. "But here's the thing, I get why you're cool with all the violence, but why is Kai? Is it because of his dad?"

"Perhaps. What causes sociopathy? In my day, they believed it was the devil. I'm assuming the modern world has a more – enlightened theory," this was said mockingly with a condescending smile.

"Ss- sociopathy?" she stuttered, shocked to her core. There was an odd ringing in her ears.

"Yes, sociopathy. Kai is a diagnosed sociopath," he said giving her an odd look. "Didn't you know?"

"Oh my God."

"Guess the cat's out of the bag as they say," he continued, sounding pleased. He was even smirking.

"H-how? What does that even mean? Is he sadistic? Is he dangerous? Am in danger living with him?"

"He does indeed have violent tendencies. Speaking as someone that has seen what he can do with nothing more than a knife, I'd love to see what he could do with magic."

"Don't lie to me, Kol are you just trying to scare me again?"

"No, little witch."

"Am I in danger? What about the kids?"

"Don't know about them. You'll be fine, assuming you don't push him too far as he rather fancies you."

"Does Joshua know?"

"He thinks he's an abomination, if you tell him any of this, Kai will kill you. What do you think happened to his therapist? The one that diagnosed him."

"How does he know he's a sociopath and not just disturbed?"

"Ask him yourself."

"Kol," she said voice weary and a little hesitant. The whole thing made her want to turn and run back to Mystic Falls, but then she thought about his siblings and how alone they were with him, she could not run.

Their conversation was cut off by the bell ringing and the rest of the class shuffled in, looking distraught and tense. Bonnie immediately felt something off in their energy. Something had happened between when she arrived at school and now.

Mrs. Jenkins their homeroom teacher came in.

"Mr. Saltzman has called in sick," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "So I am going to temp until he is well."

Bonnie could practically feel Kol's eyes boring holes into the back of her neck. She hoped for Mr. Saltzman's sake that he had fled the country. Otherwise, she would have to protect him from Kol and Kai.

"What about the rumors?" someone, Bonnie was so engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't see who, called out.

"Those," and now Mrs. Jenkins sounded near tears. "I wanted to explain my presence here before I explained what is some terribly sad news. A student in this class, T.J. Miles and his family were found murdered in their home this morning."

 _T.J.?_

They had a date on Friday, sort of and he was dead? He couldn't be, she felt faint. She looked over and saw Cassie looked upset as she did. Some of the students were crying. T.J. was in their year, everyone knew him.

"I am very sorry to tell you this, he'll be missed. The guidance counselors are available all week, working extra if anyone needs to talk."

"What happened? Did they catch whoever did this?" Cassie said, both angry and upset.

Bonnie was taken aback by the forcefulness of the ordinarily shy and soft-spoken girl.

"The police are investigating and that it was murder is all we know," Mrs. Jenkins looked sick, like she found the whole thing too upsetting.

Bonnie had the worst feeling of déjà vu. This was just like the bar massacre, except Mr. Saltzman had been the one to deliver the news.

For the second time since arriving in Portland, Bonnie found herself in the uncomfortable position of wanting to panic and feeling numb at the same time. Mrs. Jenkins never did get the chance to begin the lesson because she was overrun by questions from grieving students. Some of the football players even just up and left.

The bell rang and as the room slowly emptied Bonnie and Cassie both turned to stare accusingly at Kol.

"I would keep that temper of yours under control, were I you, little witch," Kol warned her. It was obvious he was speaking only to her, his brown eyes so hard and unyielding never left her green ones.

Bonnie hated that he knew how angry she was. Hated how he always knew what she was thinking and feeling.

"I should set you on fire."

"Cassie, you can leave," Kol told her.

He didn't need to tell her twice, the other girl was already on her way out.

"And now you've scared Cassie," she complained. "What if she tells Joshua what she just heard?"

"That sounds like Kai's problem to me."

"And mine! I live there too now and right now you're seriously scaring me!"

"Quite contrary, I'm angering you," he said with an arrogant smirk. "If Joshua becomes too much of a problem, you can always come stay with me, little witch."

Bonnie rolled her eyes in answer as if she would ever willingly stay at his place.

"My anger is believe it or not, a reaction to my fear! If Kai and Joshua get into it, I don't want to be around for it, and I don't want to stay at your place either."

"If that happens, you ring me. I mean it, Bonnie."

"Why did you kill him?" Bonnie demanded her eyes filling with hot angry tears that were threatening to spill. She blinked them away.

"I didn't."

"Why?"

"I didn't do it. What are you getting so worked up over? He's only a human, one you hardly knew."

"Because he was a person!" she exclaimed. "And I did know him! We had plans on Friday! Him and me and Cassie and one of his friends!"

"Guess that means you're free now. Fancy a drive Friday night, love?"

"Oh God, that's why."

Bonnie let out an angry shriek before stomping out of the room.

"What did I say?" Kol called after her.

Bonnie was so busy wiping the tears from her eyes, she didn't see Kai until she ran straight into him. It didn't occur to her, that he was blocking her path on purpose.

"You okay, Bunny?"

"I'm fine," she muttered taking a step back and just barely avoiding the hand that was trying to snake itself around her middle. After he siphoned her again last night, she never wanted him touching her again. Knowing what he had been complicit in last night, she wanted that even less.

"You heard," Kai said with mock sympathy. "Guess this means the big date is off."

"Oh God," she whispered. He just confirmed her suspicions. "That's why you did it. You killed him and his whole family because I was going on a date with him."

Kai was about to answer, but Bonnie was pushing past him. She ran to the girls' bathroom, throwing the door open and rushing to the nearest stall where she threw up. She threw up until there was nothing left in her stomach and all she was doing was dry heaving.

"Wow, suuuper dramatic reaction, gotta say I wasn't expecting that, Bunny," Kai said from somewhere behind her.

"Go away," she croaked.

"Nah, Bonster I thought we could finish our talk."

"What is wrong with you?"

She flushed the toilet.

"Why would you think there's something wrong with me? Why would you say that, hmm?"

When she turned around, she saw he was watching her in amusement.

"Because you killed a guy and his whole family because he asked me out, that's why. And in case you're wondering, that is not normal."

"I'm a Gemini warlock, Bunny we don't play by normal rules and we don't like other people, especially not mortals playing with what's ours."

"That might be normal behavior for a vampire, but not for a warlock. And you know it."

"I told you, I don't like others playing with what's mine."

His blue eyes were cold and steely yet she saw a flicker of rage in them.

"I'm not yours!" she all but screamed the words at him.

"Aren't you?" he cocked his head to the side.

"No, I'm not!" she crossed her arms defensively.

He reached for her, she shrieked and jumped backward.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked, panic overflowing her. With one touch he could steal her magic, if he held on long enough, it would kill her.

"Playing games?"

"Leave her alone, Kai."

Bonnie never thought she would be relieved to see Kol, not after what she'd just learned, but she was. Kai could siphon her magic, leaving her virtually defenseless against him, but he couldn't do that to Kol.

"Aren't we a little past this?" Kai said turning to the Original.

"You alright, little witch?" Kol asked her, ignoring Kai.

"I'm leaving," Bonnie said daring them to protest. "Don't try and stop me."

She pushed past Kai, but Kol moved aside. He even went as far as to hold the door open for her. She walked away and didn't need to look to know Kol was stalking her, just because he didn't stop her from leaving didn't mean he would consider the conversation over. She couldn't hear him, but she could feel that crackling energy that let her know he was close. It made her magic flare up underneath her skin, it was unsettling.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he just scared me, but so do you. So nothing new."

"That wasn't my intent. You're safe with me."

"I can't decide if you're insane or a dirty liar."

"Both however, for the time being I am only mad for you, beautiful."

And just like that, Bonnie's body was pressed against his. She hated her reaction, hated how she loved the feel of his firm muscles against her.

"Let go."

"Take your pick of psychos or it's no one, my love," he whispered lips brushing hers.

"Get your hands off me!"

Furiously, Bonnie hit him with an aneurism. Kol groaned and held onto his head. He raised his eyes to her and the hazel was gone. All that was left was black fury.

"Stop the spell or I'll hurt someone else."

With an outraged cry, Bonnie let her magic drop. "Do not touch me," she held her hand up to ward him off.

Kol nodded. "Like I said, take your pick or it's no one. Neither Kai nor I will stand for that, little witch."

Nausea rose at the back of her throat and Bonnie knew that if she had anything left in her stomach she would have been sick all over again.

"That's sick. You're sick. Can you even begin to imagine how I am feeling? Can you even feel?"

"Yes."

"Like empathy and stuff?"

"On occasion, depends on who for," he said ruefully.

"Why should I believe you?" Bonnie stared back at him with distrust.

Kol was regarding her with a look that she almost wanted to describe as earnest. But she did not believe him. She no longer believed anything he said or Kai for that matter. There were too many fucked up things happening for her to believe it.

Somehow, it must have shown on her face because Kol smirked. His next words caught her completely off guard.

"Cast a truth spell then. You're a witch, use your magic."

"I will," Bonnie said.

She pushed him away and ran down the hallway, away from him. She ran to get back to the Parker home. She had no idea if there was such a thing as a truth spell, but she was going to find out.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has read this fic! I appreciate it and I appreciate all of the reviews! They keep me going and I especially appreciate those that have read this when I originally posted and still review! Seriously, all of you lovely readers are the best! So Bonnie has definitely seen what monsters both Kai and Kol are now. What did you think of the chapter and their overall creepiness? What did you think of the scenes with Bonnie and Kai doing magic? Grams's visit, how was it? I am going to play around with Bonnie and Sheila's relationship since that was never fully explored on the show and I am still bitter like I am about most things TVD related. Anyway, I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to leave me a drabble request for Kennett or bonkai. Currently, working on a fluffy Kennett drabble that should be up soon-ish.**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Who prefers Kol, I love him too. I'm such a sucker for Kennett. Literally, I will ship it until I die if the last few years are any indication!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I actually got some vacation time, wohoo! I didn't think that would happen because the clothing store I manage has been seriously understaffed, but I still got to take my vacation (bless the new assistant manager). Anyway, so my updates might be a bit out of whack for a few days, but don't worry it's not a hiatus, I'll just be jetlagged from travelling to Ohio.**

 **Enjoy!**

Bonnie was happy she had driven herself to school this morning because that meant she could drive herself home before the school day ended to get away from Kol and Kai, who were acting more psycho than usual. That or they finally just decided to let her see how crazy they really were. Since they murdered a boy and his whole family because he asked her out, she was thinking that was crazier than she could handle.

Kol at least, claimed to mean her no harm. Kai well he just plain freaked her out. Kol she expected evil from, but not him. Not from a warlock.

Either way, she was determined to try a truth spell.

Bonnie was currently looking through her family Grimoire. She found a spell that made everyone tell her the truth for twenty-four hours, but it said the results could be weird when used on supernaturals. Of course, her ancestor hadn't bothered to specify what they meant by weird.

Sighing, she called her Grams.

"What's wrong, child?"

Bonnie explained what she was trying to do.

"Hm-hm, and what exactly will Kol do if he finds out you cast this spell?" Sheila questioned and her voice was shrewd.

"Since it was his idea, I don't think he'll mind."

"And Kai? If it backfires and he learns it could put you in a tricky spot with the Geminis."

"I thought that was why Kol was here," Bonnie said hesitantly.  
"That and he can't seem to be persuaded to return to Mystic Falls. Are you prepared to deal with the potential fallout?"

"I think so. I don't know Grams, some weird stuff is going on here. I feel like I need inside of their minds."

"You just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into first, child. Think long and hard about it."

"I will."

Bonnie happened to glance out the window, she wasn't aware of what drew her gaze, but she saw Kol's red car pulling into the driveway. It made her want to swear, not that she was about to with her Grams on the line.

"And otherwise how are you doing?"

"Still feeling abandoned since you asked, even if you did come to visit."

"Don't take that tone with me. I drove your car up."

"Very true and I totally appreciate it. Dad's the one that like never calls after all," she rolled her eyes.

"You know how he is," Sheila said with a derisive snort.

"I should go. Kol's here," Bonnie grimaced. "I don't really want to see him, but if I don't he might demolish the house from the outside."

"Vampires," the disdain she felt was audible.

"Love you, Grams."

"You too. Take care, hon."

Bonnie grabbed the Grimoire and went downstairs when she threw the front door open, she saw Kol had made himself at home. He was stretched out on the porch swing, looking totally at ease.

"Gross, what the hell do you want now?"

"I'm curious about that truth spell. That and geometry is dull and since all the Geminis are hiding out behind the bleacher again –"

"Okay, I get it. You talk almost as much as Kai, did you know that?"

"Correct me if I am wrong, little witch, but only yesterday you were telling me how I talked less than him and what a positive attribute that was."

"Just because you talk less than Kai, doesn't mean you don't still talk too much."  
"Words hurt, love."  
"You don't have feelings."

"Bring that Grimoire over here and let's find out," he smirked and waved his fingers. The move was both lazy and arrogant.

"Dream on," she sat down across from him on the railing. She flipped the book open to the right incantation. "Are you sure you want me to do this? If anyone finds out and gets pissed at me, I am so totally sending them your way. Not to mention all your lies up until now will be for nothing."

"I don't lie. Perhaps I do not divulge ever single morsel of information, but I do not lie," he replied looking almost offended. He definitely looked irritated.

"Omissions totally count as lying," she retorted.

"Aren't you the moral little witch."

"And manipulation, tricks seduction, totally underhanded and every bit as bad as flat out lying to someone."

"Like I said," Kol chuckled.

"Alright, here goes nothing," she muttered. She stumbled her way through the Latin. By the time, it was over, the only indication that it had actually worked was how the hair at the nape of her neck stood up and the heavy electric feel of the air, almost like they were expecting a thunderstorm.

"Your Latin could use some work, but by all means, ask away, love."

"Is Kai really a sociopath?"

"Why did I know your first question would be about him?" Kol groaned. "However, to answer your question, yes, he is."

"How does he know?"

"How the bloody hell should I know and why should I care how he knows? He simply does. And that is about as much interest as I hold in regards to his mental state."

"Am I in danger, like from you?"

"No," and he actually rolled his eyes at the question. "Don't you have anything more imaginative to ask me?"

"Like?"

"What's my favorite sex position? For the record it is –"

"No! Nope! Hell no!" she held her hand up. "I so don't want to know."

"Fine, but since we are going to be playing twenty questions come sit with me."

"I guess," Bonnie kicked his feet away, settling down on the opposite side of him. "Satisfied?"

"Almost."

Kol disappeared in a flash. He returned in the blink of an eye with a bottle of wine.

"So is there a way for me to summon us glasses or am I going to have to get up?" she asked feeling considerably better knowing she was not in danger. The ease with which Kol killed made her sick, but it didn't surprise her and there was nothing she could do about it other than try to curb his homicidal tendencies.

"There is," he confirmed.

"Why aren't you telling? Aren't you like under a truth spell?" Bonnie asked.

"I have to tell you the truth, but I don't have to answer. I'm not human after all."

"And we found the unexpected twist. C'mon, if you know tell me."

Kol gave her the Latin pronunciation and she mimicked him, holding out her hand. Two wine glasses from the kitchen materialized in her hands, she squealed in delight. She passed them to Kol, who filled them. It was red wine, one so full-bodied it looked like blood.

"A witch learning magic from a vampire. That is what I call ironic," she said unable to keep the smile from her face at her success.

"I'll drink to that. You've a lot of raw power; otherwise all these little spells would give you more trouble on the first try."

"I guess, I don't know. I have to have limits, right?"

"All witches do. Though the ones with the most potential, the most power, they learn the basics quickly. I imagine the bigger, more complex spells will give you more trouble. They certainly did me."

"Were you all your siblings witches?"

"Yes, we all had some skill with magic though I daresay; Rebekah and I had the most potential."

"Was it sad to turn?"

"Do not poke and prod at my emotions. You'll find I can be quite indifferent."

"That doesn't surprise me. I'm surprised you feel anything at all," she remarked.

"Vampires feel things in a heightened sense, I'm partial to rage, lust, bloodlust –"

"Basically, you're a dick," she said looking at him in exasperation. "Do you feel empathy?"

"It's rare, but it has on occasion happened over the years."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Have you?" he countered.

"No, your turn."

"No, quite frankly I hardly see the point."

"Still, a thousand years is a long time never to have never fallen in love."

"I suppose it is though I daresay Rebekah has fallen in love enough time for all of us. Every other time she lays eyes on a man she's in love."  
"She just keeps falling in and out of love? Sounds lonely."

Suddenly, and unexpectedly Bonnie felt a stab of compassion for Kol's sister. What must it be like to spend eternity falling in and out of love?

"It's not quite that simple. Nik kills her lovers, she mourns, falls for someone new and that's how it goes. You would think by now she would have learned to control her emotions."

"I'm beginning to see why you all want him dead," she said softly.

"He's a tyrannical wanker."

That made Bonnie laugh.

Kol grabbed her ankle and pulled her onto his lap. She let him wrap his arms around her, leaning against his chest.

"You're impossible."

"I wager you don't mind. I'm safer than Kai."

"That isn't exactly a ringing endorsement," she countered, snorting with laughter.

"Well that's not entirely true. I'm more likely to commit random murder. For a sociopath with a violent temper, his self-control really is amazing however; I am safer for you to be around."

"Why? Because you lust after me?" Bonnie questioned she arched her neck, running a teasing finger down her pulse line.

"Ah-ah, little witch I am done answering your questions."

"Fine," she pretended to pout.

Kol pulled her to him. His hand cupped the back of her neck, bringing their lips together. The kiss was pure need and wet. She let him kiss her, not really giving conscious thought to why and refusing to acknowledge the sparks that shot through her or how his kiss made her core throb until she was dripping wet.

When the kiss ended, they were both breathing hard. Kol wore a smug smirk and when he winked at her, a blush crept up her neck because she knew that meant he could smell her arousal. She felt his hardness against the back of her thigh where she was sitting in his lap and felt relieved that he was affected by her too.

Bonnie knew she shouldn't kiss him that he was a sick deranged vampire, but after an honest conversation she was starting to suspect there might be more to him. Maybe Kol hadn't always been this way. She wanted to ask him what he had been like as a warlock, but she doubted he would tell her.

Kol pecked her once more on the lips.

"Let's go to that silly bonfire of yours."

"Why?" Bonnie asked having a sip of wine to distract herself from how close his lips were, how close they were sitting. It always let her ignore the predatory look he was sending her.

"Because it's a date. One with people, no need for you to spend the evening afraid and jumpy."

"I guess. I don't know, I kind of feel like I should stay in."

"Everyone is going. Do you want to be the only girl that missed out? Especially when you could have a hot date," he cocked a challenging eyebrow.

"On one condition, I get to drive. And no more killing anyone. Period."

"If you like."

Kol kissed her again, making her head spin.

He left before the others got back from school.

Bonnie vowed to stay as far away from Kai as she could. The last thing she needed was him finding out she cast a truth spell because she asked him to pass the salt or something stupid. Somehow, she thought he would be furious.

XXX

Before cheerleading practice, Bonnie was sitting on the bleachers with Kol and Jo. Kai was down on the football field, talking to one of the boys from his class.

Kol had left her alone for the most part today, to the point that she thought she might finally get some peace until he joined her and Jo.

"Are you looking forward to our date on Saturday?" Kol asked her with a broad grin.

Jo sitting behind him, made gagging faces at Bonnie, who did her best to suppress her smile in case Kol thought it was because she was excited. She suspected he saw any way, so she fixed him with a glower.

"No, the very thought is making me queasy."

"You are a terrible liar, little witch."

"This from the guy, who lies by omission," she scoffed.

"You've no idea how effective that is. Works far better than any fully-fledged lie."

"Good for you," she patted his knee and putting effort into making it patronizing.

"Kai's about to punch a football player," Kol said tilting his head to the side, a clear sign he was eavesdropping on someone.

"Why?"

Kol rose to his feet. "Not sure however, I'll help."

Bonnie was about to protest when she saw it was too late. He was already gone.

"I hate it when he does that!" she complained.

"Vampires," Jo rolled her eyes. "Between him and Kai, I'm not sure who is more trouble."

"I cast a truth spell yesterday to wrangle some answers out of Kol and apparently it depends on how they feel about you."

"And now I am worried about Kai," Jo said in an undertone, blue eyes fixing on her brother down on the football field.

Bonnie followed her gaze and nearly groaned at what she saw. Kai and another boy Bonnie didn't know, were right in each other's faces. Behind him, Kol was lurking, how he managed to look like he was lurking even with his back to her, she had no idea, but he was managing it just fine.

On the other side, flanking the other boy were four of his friends. They probably thought they had the upper hand, and it made them challenge Kai further than they should. She knew they would be sorry. Fear for the safety of the other boys hit her.

"Come on, Kol just walk away. They aren't worth it," she said in an undertone knowing he would hear.

Kol looked over his shoulder at her; he flashed a confident smile and shook his head.

"You know you can take them, it's not like you have anything to prove."

Again, he shook his head.

"For me?" she tried and ended up grimacing just from saying it.

Now he gave her a look that was indicating he was considering it and then he looked at Kai.

"We should go stop that," Jo said seeing the conversation she was having with Kol.

"Yeah, we should," Bonnie echoed.

She got to her feet and was on her way down to the field with Jo hot on her heels. When she reached the boys Jo hung back and Bonnie tried to get level with Kai, but Kol reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him. He shook his head, eyes not leaving Kai and the other boy.

"I wouldn't get in the middle of that if I were you, love."

"Well I'm not you," Bonnie hissed and snatched her arm free. She strode up to Kai and touched his arm, just a quick gesture to get his attention before pulling it back. His eyes flickered briefly to her before flickering back to the other man. "Kai, we should go home."

"Correct me, if I am wrong, Bunny but I believe you still have cheerleader practice."

"Fine, I do, but whatever this is about, it's not worth it. Now let's go."

Kai snorted.

The other guy had now noticed Bonnie for real. He smirked and there was something gleeful about that smile.

"And there she is now. Come to rescue your boyfriend or is the other one your boyfriend?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but neither one happens to be my boyfriend." She glared at him then she turned to Kai. "That's what this is about?"

"Personally, I think he is just jealous," Kai said slowly with a feral smile that was more a baring of teeth. "I mean, everyone knows he's a virgin with a micro-penis."

"Oh my God," Bonnie groaned knowing there was no stopping whatever would happen next after a remark like that.

"Better that than a fag with some ditzy chick as a beard."

Bonnie took a step back when she saw the anger in Kai's face. His jaw ticked and his hand clenched, and unclenched.

"Wow, a comment like that is not only juvenile, it's lame. Gay jokes, really? That's all you've got? Your dick is so teeny-tiny, you assume I'm as insecure in my masculinity as you are? Well I've got news for you –"

Bonnie stared at Kai in amazement. It wasn't that she assumed he was a homophobe, in fact she hadn't given it a thought, but she hadn't exactly expected to see him shutting homophobia down either.

Kai never got to finish his insult though. The other boy's fist flew through the air and hit him squarely in the jaw, Kai's head turned to the side in a painful twist. He turned back to glare at him, rubbing his jaw. The smile was gone, but there was a deadly look in his eyes that made a shiver run down Bonnie's spine.

"Ah, Jason I was so hoping you would do that."

Kai tackled Jason. Bonnie rushed to stand back along with Jo so they didn't get caught up in the fight when she saw his friends going for Kol. Kol smirked and rushed forward as well. He punched the one, knocking the wind from him and tackling the second friend.

The whole thing happened in such a rush that Bonnie and Jo stood on the sidelines in shock. Finally, when Kai sat up and took a swing at Jason, who was simply lying lifelessly on the ground, she found her voice.

"STOP IT!" she yelled.

Kai and Kol both unsurprisingly ignored her.

Bonnie whispered motus, knocking Kol back. Then she ran forward and grabbed Kai's arm pulling on him. In the heat of the moment, she forgot all about her fear of touching him.

"Let go, Bunny," he hissed pushing on her.

"No! Stop it!"

Their eyes connected and she saw fury in them. There was also something else in them, something she couldn't read like he was struggling with something. Bonnie had no idea what he would have done because at the moment, the coach came running, whistle blowing furiously and waving his arms. He was an adult, and yet Bonnie thought he appeared more afraid than either her or Jo.

Jo was still on the sidelines, eyes cold and unflinching, the shock gone from her face. In that moment she looked so much like Kai and her father, Bonnie wondered if she hadn't been mistaken all along.

Jo was more like Kai than Bonnie gave her credit for.

The boys broke apart. They circled each other, rubbing sore jaws and glaring at each other. It was only a show however, on the part of the human boys. Bonnie recognized it from Matt and Tyler as nothing more than macho posturing. They wanted to look tough. Kai and Kol on the other hand, were something different. They weren't putting on a show. The looks they were sending the boys were nothing short of murderous.

"Enough!" the couch shouted. "Everyone to the principal's office! Now!"

Jason wiped the blood from his nose and spat on the field. "I think that asshole broke my nose!"

"Did I stutter? Principal's office! All of you! NOW!" the couch shouted blowing his whistle again.

Bonnie and Jo exchanged a look and followed the boys to the principal's office when he pointed and blew his whistled angrily at them as well.

XXX

Kai slouched down in the chair in the principal's office. He folded his hands in his laps and blinked up at the principal, smiling innocently. Next to him, Kol was staring indifferently up at the ceiling. He could feel the tension coming off Bonnie and Jo in waves. Jason and his squad of winged monkeys, he could not care less what happened to them.

"Does anyone care to offer an explanation for the state of you?" the principal demanded.

He was an older greying man named Smith, Principal Smith. It all felt terribly cliché to Kai. He pointed to the bloody mess he and Kol had made of Jason and his friend.

No one answered him.

The principal heaved a heavy sigh. "You three, go to the nurses' office before you die in my office, that would be…messy."

Kai raised a brow at this statement. He might not care about the state they were in other than a satisfaction at having helped put them there, but he was certain a principal one who by all accounts should be able to feel empathy was supposed to show some at the state they were in.

Maybe there was something interesting about him after all. The other boys shuffled off and Principal Smith curled his lip in disgust before turning to the rest of them once they were gone.

"Well do you care to explain why three other boys are bleeding and the two of appear to be perfectly fine?"

"Not particularly," Kol replied with a lazy indifference that had Principal Smith glowering at him.

"We know how to keep our guard up," Kai said with a smirk.

"That is not a sufficient explanation as I am confident you are well aware. What about the two of you? I hear you witnessed everything." This was aimed at Bonnie and Jo, who exchanged uncertain glances.

"Jason started it. Kai and Kol were just defending themselves," Bonnie said after one last uneasy look at his sister.

"The state of Jason and his friends would beg to differ," the Principal, countered.

Jo shot Kai a furious look that him biting down on his lip to keep from laughing. He knew why she was angry with him. He had messed up.

His father would receive a phone call from the school and it would only confirm Joshua's notion that he was an abomination. It wasn't worth Kai getting worked up over, Joshua was already miserable with him and he would take things out on Kai whether or not they were his fault anyway. Not to mention their little outings twice a week that inevitably ended in violence.

But for Jo this would be a big deal. Suddenly, Joshua would be angry with her for even being present, for not stopping it, for associating with her abomination of a brother. Occurrences like these were the only time she experienced what it was like to be Kai. And she did not like it, blaming Kai whenever it happened.

"Enough of this, you are boring me," Kol chuckled. He used his vampire speed to flash ahead and grabbed the throat of the Principal. Raising him up and showing him up against the wall behind the man, elicited cries of protest from the girls, but nothing more. "You will forget this happened. The only thing you remember is Jason and his mates are wankers who tried to attack us and got what they deserved."

"And he won't make any phone calls to our parents," Jo said speaking up.

Kai chuckled.

Ah, his poor naïve sissy.

The coach would have already phoned their dad, it was too late to stop the rage of Joshua. However, at least Kol could keep her squeaky-clean record that way or at the very least keep too much blood from Kai's.

"Yes, of course. You won't be phoning anyone's parents. Fortunate in my case, as mine are long dead," he chuckled at this.

Kai smirked. Lucky bastard, if only Joshua's life were not tied to his own.

Clever really, in annoying way.

XXX

Bonnie got a ride home from Kol. Kai and Jo left, arguing and since she didn't want to get in the middle of whatever they were fighting about, she asked him to take her home. Kol being Kol obviously did not complain. He actually handed her the keys to his Ferrari, which meant she sped the whole way home and was back at the Parker house long before any of the Parker kids. It also meant she was locked out and if the owner of the house was not a coven leader, she might have used magic to get through the front door. She didn't trust Joshua not to have some serious magical booby traps in place.

Since she couldn't she sat on the porch steps with Kol. Neither of them said anything, they just stared at the sky. In the distance, the trees rustled pleasantly the shifting light falling on the foliage and it was beautiful, peaceful even. Something Bonnie found the Parker home was rarely.

"Autumn is in the air," Kol said breaking the silence.

"Feels like summer to me," Bonnie said turning her face up toward the sun.

"For now." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "I can smell it in the air."

"If you are going to start talking about all of the gross things vampires can smell, you can leave."

Kol chuckled. "It's not all bad. I can smell your perfume, sage and vanilla mixed with lilac. The scent of your blood mingling with it and your magic, just underneath your skin."

"Gross," she repeated rolling her eyes.

Just then, Kai's car came driving up the road sparing her having to think of a way to make Kol leave. He would either go home now or become Kai's problem.

Bonnie stood and waited for them to park. Once they did, she went to help Jo get the twins out of the backseat. She ignored the way Kol stared after her.

She helped Jo get all of the kids inside and ready either for naptime in the case of the twins or for a snack after school before homework like with the younger kids. Throughout all of this Kai was absent, but she knew he had come inside instead of staying out with Kol. She knew this because she heard him come inside and go upstairs.

After what had happened today, she wanted to talk to him. Kol didn't know for sure what had started the argument because he hadn't been paying attention, but Kai did. Bonnie wanted to find out, make sure he was alright and to see to it that Jason and his friends didn't turn up dead on account of it.

Realizing she had no idea where to find him, she turned to Jo, who was bent over Annie trying to help her with longhand divination. Jo threw her hands up.

"Just use a calculator, Annie."

"I can't!" the little girl cried. "It's cheating. Her lower lip wobbled before she broke into a loud sob. "I miss mommy!"

She pushed the chair aside and ran up the stairs.

"Annie!" Jo called running after her.

Bonnie sighed and felt an acute sense of guilt. There was nothing she could do to help Annie or Jo or really any of them with the pain they carried. She could barely even help with the daily stuff because the real problem was that all of this was Joshua's fault. Jo shouldn't be forced to act like their mother, she was only seventeen. As always, this thought made her angry.

"You look furious," Kyle commented frowning at her.

"I am, but at your dad. Where is he?"

"Who knows."

"Fine, whatever. Where's Kai's room?" Bonnie sighed exasperated.

"Kai's room?" Kyle said practically quaking. "We aren't allowed up there."

"Well that's where he went and I need to talk to him," Bonnie said putting her hands on her hips and giving him a stern look.

"Third floor. His room is in the attic, you have to pull the trapdoor down."

"Thank you. Will you watch the kids until Jo or I get back?" she asked him, softening.

Poor Kyle, he too was suffering because his family was insane.

"Yeah, sure no problem. Katie never needs homework help, right?" he asked.

"That's because I'm smarter than you are," Katie said sticking her tongue out at him.

"Nice, real nice," Kyle muttered. "Anyway, the rugrats are always out like lights after preschool anyway. And Joey is easy-peasy."

"Great, thanks."

Bonnie found her way to the third floor. She had never actually been up this far before. Jo's room was on the second floor and so was the room Annie and Katie shared, the twins they were there as well. Joey and Kyle shared the other room on the second floor. Down on the first floor, off the kitchen was the master bedroom and bathroom that was Joshua's. Until Kyle told her otherwise, Bonnie had assumed Kai was forced to share a room like the rest of his siblings.

Except it made sense, isolate the abomination, the one kid that might be dangerous. With one touch, Kai could kill a witch or a warlock. Yet Bonnie couldn't help wondering if Kai would have been dangerous if he hadn't been treated like he was dangerous since he came into his powers. Not to mention whatever else Joshua probably did to him. Could someone be broken so bad they became a sociopath?

Her train of thought was cut short because she came to end of the hallway. There was a trapdoor in the ceiling and when she looked around, there was nothing to pull it down with. Groaning and knowing there was little chance Kai would actually help her if he did hear her, she thought about her options.

She used the Latin word for pull, aiming at the trapdoor and hoped it would work. She felt something surge out of her, and something in the air around her shifted. The trapdoor opened and the stairs came crashing down hitting the floor in a loud bang that shook the whole house. She heard the sound of Luke's howl broke through the silence of the house. She sent a silent apology to Jo for the disruption.

She walked up the steps, bracing herself for whatever mood Kai would be in once she asked him about what happened today.

The room at the top of the steps was bigger than any of the other bedrooms, even though it wasn't technically a bedroom.

Guess there were some advantages to being the family outcast.

The roof was slanted down to the right side opposite of the wall where the bed was. At the far end of the room there was a window with a window seat. The window wasn't very big and there was no curtains or any rugs on the floor. There was just the bed, a stereo and a dresser. And a myriad of grunge band posters on the wall, none of which were familiar to Bonnie.

Kai stretched out on the bed, feet crossed at the ankles and hands behind his bed where he sat against the wall. Next to him was an open bag of pork rinds, next to that again was an open grimoire.

"Hey Bunny, what brings you here?" he asked with a playful smile that made him look like a happy little boy.

"Hey, I just wanted to chat. Mind if I come in?" she asked suddenly nervous for a reason she wasn't sure of. Maybe it was because she was about to go into the room of a siphoning sociopath, who had murdered classmates of theirs.

 _Yeah, that was probably it_ , she thought to herself trying not to laugh at the stupidity of her thought.

"Of course, make yourself at home." He patted a spot on the bed next him.

Hesitantly, but with her chin raised and trying to keep her posture relaxed so she didn't look afraid or tense she walked over. Kai was as good at reading body language as Kol and he did it without the added advantage of vampire senses.

She sat down on the bed next to him on the bed, sitting down with her legs crossed. She gave him a concerned look. It was fake. Kai could take care of himself and any concern she felt for him was from whatever Joshua might put him through.

"What happened at school today?"

"Well I am so happy you asked," he said tilting his head to the side and grinning at her. "I had math class, and lunch was boring. Do they really think that the slop they serves passes as chili? I should make chili this weekend. You haven't had my chili yet Bonster, but trust me it will blow your mind."

"You know that isn't what I mean. What happened with Jason?"

"Just remember you asked," he said in that exaggerated playful way he had. "Jason wanted to know if you were single cause he thought you were and I quote bangable. I told him that you were, but if he tried to bang you, he might live just long enough to regret it."

"I see, and ew, he's not my type."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Bunny, not that it happens often, but I thought Kol explained the whole choice of psychos thing to you?"

"Oh yeah, I'm thinking about jumping off the roof rather than pick one of you creeps," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "But I'm not interested in Jason either. So you and Kol let him and idiot friends live, okay?"

"I guess," Kai turned his lips down pouting and she had to give it to him he did look a lot like a puppy dog when he did that.

"Promise me," Bonnie said fully aware Kai might lie. But what Kai didn't know was that she had extracted the same promise from Kol on the porch earlier today. Something that increased their odds of survival.

"Fine," he grinned. "If you give me a kiss." He pointed to his lips.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "No."

"Bunny," he tilted his chin down, pretending to pout.

"Kai."

"Suit yourself. They might or might not live."

"Kill them and I'll never kiss you again," she answered with a winning smile.

"Touché," he said smile replaced with an expression that was almost impressed. "Anything else?"

"We could use your help downstairs, you know. The twins are napping, but Annie and Katie are kicking up a fuss, Kai."

"Uh-huh," Kai said rolling his eyes at her now. "Admit it you're hiding."

"I am not!"

"I heard the crying you don't want to be down there anymore than I do."

Lazily, he tossed a grimoire at her. She could feel the magic tingle from the old volume. The cover was cracked and well-worn leather. Her fingers itched to touch it; she gave in and started to turn the pages.

"See this is a lot more fun than taking care of the brats," Kai said and she didn't need to look at him to know he was gloating.

She didn't answer as she flipped through the grimoire. It was filled with spell after spell. Each one was more interesting than the last. There were money spells, spells to tell a person's future, and a truth spell that was similar to the one in her own family grimoire. There were some distinct differences like the Gemini coven used a lot more animal sacrifices, bones and that their spells came with a lot fewer warning labels.

Her eyes fell on a linking spell. That was interesting. It was apparently to link two people together so that if the one person was hurt then so was the other person. She had glimpsed it in her own book, but until she knew it was a spell her family shared with the Geminis she hadn't been interested.

Kai turned on the stereo, blasting that punk rock music he liked so much. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw a book on dimension hopping was on his lap. He was dressed in that grunge look he seemed to favor. Dark blue plaid shirt, faded The Clash T-shirt, black jeans, metal key-chain hanging from the side and leather bracelet around his wrist. He was wearing a few silver rings. On a less masculine boy, it might have looked silly, but on Kai the rings were hot.

"You're staring, it's creepy," he sing-sang, but he sounded pleased.

"Just wondering how far you're going to take this whole punk rock thing."

Bonnie stretched and rolled onto her back, after pushing the grimoire aside. Kai was sitting with his back to the wall, legs stretched out and tapped her stomach with his foot.

"See this is much better than hanging out with the rugrats."

"I can't help them. They need their dad," Bonnie said not bothering to keep the exasperation from her voice. "And turn that shit down."

"Make me," Kai said holding the clicker up, turning the volume up.

Bonnie sat up and reached for it. She knew it was a trap, but she didn't care because the blaring music was starting to grate on her nerves. She reached for the remote control and when she did, Kai grabbed her by the waist and pulled. She fell against his chest, while his arms encircled her.

Bonnie not sure how exactly she had come to straddle him, pushed him back, horrified at the sudden proximity. She could feel his warmth through their clothes, the hardness of his body and smell his aftershave. Their eyes met and his pupils dilated to the point that the blue was nearly gone. He pressed his hand to the back of her neck, bringing her lips crashing to his. She gasped and shoved him off her.

"GET OFF!"

Bonnie whacked his chest, well aware she was probably irritating Kai more than was safe.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" she sputtered. "What's wrong is that you are complete psycho! Who beat someone up today just because you can't walk away! You've murdered people! That's what's wrong!"

"So?" he raised a brow. "You've made out with Kol."

"Yeah, well Kol isn't getting anywhere near me again! Same as you!"

"You have a date with him on Saturday," Kai said eyes narrowing.

Bonnie shoved on him again and got off his lap.

"I have a date with him on Saturday because I want to drive his car," Bonnie said flopping down on her back once more. "And because he promised not to kill anyone else if I went out with him." Deciding to change the subject, she latched on the first topic that came to mind. "So why doesn't your dad cast a money spell and buy a house with enough bedrooms for everyone?"

"Not sure, but I suspect it's because he can't pull them off. They're tricky," Kai replied flashing a smile. "Or maybe he just doesn't care."

"Maybe," Bonnie echoed regretting having asked.

"Wanna try it?"

"No, the last thing I need is you siphoning my magic again."

"Ouch, flat out rejected. That's cold, which is ironic for a girl named Bunny."

Instead of answering, Bonnie kicked him. Kai caught her foot and tickled the bottom of it. She twisted and turned, howling with laughter. He pulled her up next to him, and propped the book back up. She slid over a little, sitting up next to him and reading the book over his shoulder.

"Why the fascination with alternate dimensions?" she asked curious in spite of her better judgement.

"Cause they're cool, don't you think?"

Bonnie put her head on his shoulder, finding herself engrossed in the text without meaning to. It was all about how the Geminis had travelled between dimensions using something called an ascendant, but that it took a lot of power to pull it off.

"I guess," she said slowly after several more seconds of skimming the page. "To be honest, I never thought it was possible."

"Whole new wooooorld –"

Before Kai could turn this into a sing-along event, Bonnie grabbed the pillow behind her and hit him in the face with it. He sputtered and tossed it aside. She laughed at the offended look on his face and even he had to chuckle.

"Wouldn't have taken you for an Aladdin fan or a Disney fan at all."

"Me?" he pointed to himself. "I am well versed in all of the classics."

"Yeah, right," she snorted.

She had the sudden mental image of Kai and Jo in each their pink and blue footie pajamas lying on their stomachs on the living room rug. Pillows in front of them, popcorn bowl next to them and staring with big eyes, peering up at the TV in excitement and grinning. Somehow even with the childish grin Kai was flashing now, she still couldn't picture it. Especially not him singing along to Aladdin, unless it was to be annoying.

The longer they stared into each other's eyes the more it felt like she was being pulled into them. Something in the air between them shifted.

BANG!

Bonnie and Kai jumped, attention turning to where the attic trapdoor had fallen down. Heavy footsteps like those from a man could be heard before Joshua Parker's salt and pepper hair became visible. He wore a scowl that had Bonnie's stomach twisting into knots for Kai's sake. Joshua froze in place when he saw her. His features arranging into a slightly less angry mask.

"I was not aware you were up here, Bonnie," he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, but here I am," she replied awkwardly.

"We don't generally allow visitors up here," Joshua continued not sounding mad precisely, but like he wasn't pleased either.

"She's a guest, dad," Kai ventured and managing a casual laugh.

"Right, yes of course," Joshua answered with a tight smile. "Anyway, tonight is time for our –" Again he cleared his throat. "Lesson."

Something about the way he said that gave her a bad feeling. Without conscious thought, she reached out and took Kai's hand in hers.

"But Kai was supposed to help me with some spells. It's a lesson from my Grams and Jo is so busy with the kids and I don't think I can do it on my own," Bonnie said gripping Kai's hand and mentally willing him not to call her lie.

"Yeah, cause I'm such an awesome protégé," Kai added with a jaunty smile yet there was something mocking in his voice.

"I am not certain you are aware that Kai is a rather abnormal warlock and I do not think that is a good idea."

"So what if he's a siphoner? I don't care."

"Yes, well you haven't been a witch long enough to know anything about the matter," Joshua said eyes stormy. His eyes landed on their interlocked hands and his lip curled back in disgust. "And in the future, you may want to refrain from touching him. It rarely ends well."

Bonnie winced almost imperceptibly. There was an air of something violent surrounding the older man.

"It's cool, Bunny, we'll do it another night," Kai said giving her hand a squeeze.

Joshua's eyes followed that movement, lingering on their locked hands. Kai jumped off the bed as if nothing had ever happened.

 **Thank you so much to everyone who has read, faved, followed and reviewed this fic! Seriously, you keep by bonkai and Kennett shipping self writing! Let me know what you thought of this chapter, what was your favorite part? And who do you like better kol or kai for bonnie? What do you think is going on with kai and his dad? I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to be kept in the loop about updates and new fics or if you want to request a Kennett/bonkai drabble!**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Thank you for reviewing! There is more bonkai in this chapter so I hope that helps. I am leaning toward a bonkai ending, but the plot took an unexpected twist later on, so I'm not sure that will happen? *hides***

 **Guest: Thank you so, so much for reading and reviewing! Bless you for shipping Kennett (they're my OTP as you can probably guess). Since Bonnie can forgive Damon, Caroline and Stefan for various stupid shit, I guess she can forgive these two psychos as well. At least she can when I write her, lol. Still, hope you liked this chapter as well!**


	11. Chapter 11

***Disclaimer: I down own TVD***

Kai followed his father to the clearing in the woods. There was nothing there except for one nearly empty shed. Over the years, he had come to hate the sight of the shack as much as he hated his father.

Joshua might call Kai an abomination, but he was just as cold and ruthless as his sociopath son.

Inside the shed, Kai rubbed his jaw. His rings hummed with magic. Joshua might have sensed the magic in them if he ever bothered to search for such things, which he did not. The lazy old man was too arrogant and proud to scan nearby areas for magic.

It would be his own fault when Kai put his plan in to motion, but first he needed to secure the help of one Bennett witch. In the meantime, he just needed to hang in there a little while longer.

"So what's the plan for today? We attempt some more spells or should we just skip straight to you losing your temper?" Kai asked forcibly upbeat.

That annoyed Joshua, making his jaw tick. Good, he could drive himself insane right along with Kai.

The next hour passed in a frustratingly familiar pattern. Joshua attempted to force Kai to do magic. He still had some residual magic in his system, Kyle gave him some this morning. In exchange, Kai told him how to get a girl's number. He could have used it or the magic in his rings, but he needed to be smart.

Instead, Kai made the feather quiver. Not enough to float it, but enough to convince Joshua it was not simply the wind moving it.

"About time," Joshua grunted. "I cannot have an abomination for a son."

Kai felt his fingers twitch to snap the man's neck.

Oh, he was an abomination, through and through. Soon enough Joshua would feel his wrath. Then he would regret turning Kai into the family reject.

XXX

Saturday night Bonnie was getting ready in the bathroom with Jo. She was wearing a pair of light blue denim jeans with a black off the shoulder lace top. Her hair was down in soft waves. It was Jo's top and she insisted that Bonnie dress up.

Jo was wearing leather pants and a sheer white button up shirt with a lacey black bra. Paired with her jet-black hair and startlingly blue eyes it was a sexy look, especially when she lined her eyes.

"The boys are going to go nuts when they see you," Bonnie teased with a smile.

"Me and you both," Jo said with a grin.

She picked up the remote control and cranked it up some more.

' _London's Callin', London's callin',_ the lyrics came in over the stereo loud and filled with bass. Bonnie had no idea who sang this, but all of the grunge and punk rock was starting to grow on her. The more the Parker kids played it, the less it started to sound like noise and more like cool background noise. Since they were playing the classics her fingers itched to play some of the classics her Grams loved.

Josephine Baker, Eartha Kitt, Louis Armstrong or Dinah Washington.

But she was a guest here and that meant she did not pick the music. At least she didn't when she was outnumbered by literally all of the Parker kids. Except maybe Liv and Luke, who would probably prefer something softer.

"I feel like this outfit is wasted on Kol," Bonnie said turning around and surveying her outfit.

"It would probably be wasted on Kai too," Jo answered with a mischievous look.

"Don't, we are not talking about that," Bonnie argued holding a hand up to ward off any further comments.

Jo gave her another knowing look, but didn't say anything else.

"BONNIE!" a high and familiar voice called out somehow managing to break through the loud beat of the music.

"Caroline?" Bonnie said in shock. "Caroline!"

She went running downstairs and at the foot of the stairs were Caroline and Elena.

"Bonnie!" Both girls cried.

"Oh my God!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Caroline rushed forward and pulled into a tight hug that made it hard to breathe. Bonnie didn't care, she threw her arms around her friend and they started jumping into the air. Elena joined them and soon they were all squealing and jumping around.

"Well if this isn't the best day ever," Kai said coming down the stairs and grinning manically at them.

The girls broke apart. Elena looked down at her shoes and Caroline peered at him curiously. Bonnie turned around to glare at him in exasperation.

"Shut up, Kai."

"Ooh, say it again. I am digging this strict Bunny."

"Bunny?" Caroline said wrinkling her nose.

"Don't ask," Bonnie said glancing over her shoulder at her blonde friend. Before turning back to Kai. "These are my friends, Elena and Caroline," she pointed to them. "Guys, this is Kai."

"Elaine, Clarice, got it," Kai said grinning and nodding to him.

"He's a dick, feel free to ignore him," Bonnie interrupted glaring at him.

"Ouch." He fake winced and tossed his arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. "Is that anyway to talk to the guy that helped arrange this little visit of yours?"

"Yeah, right," she snorted.

"No, really," Elena said. "He called your Grams, saying you missed us. So she called Mr. Parker and convinced him it was all our idea. Apparently he's grouchy?"

"Now there's an understatement," Kai said still chipper.

"Excuse us," Bonnie said. She grabbed Kai's hand and dragged him into the kitchen. Then she shoved him against the counter and frowned at him. "Why did you invite them here?"

"Because you are lonely," he said a confused look on his face. He also looked far too innocent for him to believe her.

"If you hurt them or use them in any of the sick twisted games you and Kol like so much, I will melt your face off."

"Ooh, sounds hot."

"I'm serious Kai," she growled.

"Gotcha, no messing with Elise and Carol."

"Good, now come on. And would it kill you to get someone's name right, just once?"

"I get your name right."

"Bunny isn't my name."

"No, it's your nickname. Cute, huh?" he said with a grin.

"Ugh."

Back in the living room, Elena and Caroline were chitchatting with Jo, who looked like she was telling them all about the party later tonight. Kyle was lugging their bags up the stairs.

"They can stay in my room, it'll be a little cramped, but that's cool," Jo said brightly seeing Kai and Bonnie.

"Perfect thank you so much for having us! We're loving Portland so far, isn't that right, Elena?" Caroline gushed.

Elena smiled. "It's so pretty here. You have a lovely home. Thank you for inviting us in."

"Thanks," Jo replied waving it aside.

Bonnie was still studying Elena. 'Thank you for inviting us in', that sounded like something a vampire would say. Before she could work out if her friend had been spending too much time with Stefan in his crypt or not the doorbell rang.

"Ooohh, is that your date?" Kai crooned.

Once more, he draped his arm around her shoulder. She saw how Elena's steady gaze took that in and how Caroline's expression turned thoughtful. Bonnie elbowed him and went to open the door. Kol was standing on the front porch, wearing a black leather jacket, dark jeans and a navy blue T-shirt with a silver pendant on a leather necklace. Kol flashed a smile.

"Greetings little witch, you look beautiful as always."

"Hey Kol," Bonnie said ignoring the flirtation in his voice.

"Kol?" Elena exclaimed from behind her. "You are dating _Kol_?"

"Who's Kol?" Caroline asked.

"I am," Kol said grinning almost bashfully and holding up a hand.

"It's complicated," Bonnie said over her shoulder to Elena.

"Unbelievable," Elena huffed.

Kol chuckled and Bonnie sighed. She stepped out on to the porch with him, shutting the door behind her.

"Look I didn't know they were coming, I'm not so sure tonight is such a good idea after all," she explained keeping her voice down in case Kai tried to eavesdrop. He probably knew a ton of spells for that kind of thing.

"Bonnie come out to play," he coaxed with the smile of an innocent little boy.

"I really don't think it's a good idea, seeing me on a date with you is clearly upsetting Elena."

"Who cares? She drove up with my sister."

"Rebekah's here?"

"Yes, I've only the one sister last I checked," he replied with an easy grin.

"Still, it's clearly bothering her and I –"

"And you what, live to serve her? You and I have a date, which is no concern of hers."

"It's not a date. We are hanging out."

"It is a date."

"Fine, it's a date, but only because I get to drive your car," she stated with an eye roll. "And more importantly because you won't kill anyone. Guaranteed this time."

"Whatever gets you on the date is fine by me," Kol smiled and winked at her.

Bonnie groaned. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Kol and I are leaving now, who wants to ride in a Ferrari?"

"Me!" Caroline announced with a bright smile.

"I'd rather not –" Elena started to say only to be nudged by Caroline.

"Knock it off, we rode up with his sister, what's your problem?" she said out of the corner of her mouth. "And I want to go for a ride in the sports car."

Bonnie resigned herself to the date happening. In the same go, she resigned herself to her date having two additional people. Since none of them was Kai, it was fine by her.

It was however, not fine by Elena. This became increasingly clear as they drove up to the forest where the bonfire was to take place. She could feel the irritation coming off her in waves, all without her childhood friend needing to utter two words. Nearly ruining driving the Ferrari.

Bonnie was all too happy to ditch them on the walk to the bonfire. She purposely fell behind. Being 5'2 and the shortest by far this was not hard to do. Then she sat back and let Jo and Kyle welcome her friends.

Kai and Kol on the other hand, apparently had no problem with waiting for her.

Annoying that.

"Where's Rebekah?" she asked mainly to make sure the blonde was not currently chowing down on any locals and partly to distract herself from how Kai and Kol flanked her on either side.

Also annoying.

"She texted saying she was on her way to the party," Kol replied his tone of voice implied he wasn't worried.

Which made sense, his sister was an Original vampire, more than capable of taking care of herself.

Kai then decided to fill the rest of the walk with incessant chatter.

The bonfire lit up the small clearing. It stood several feet in the air, flames lapping at the cold night air.

Kai winked at her before sauntering over to the Henderson twins. Doug and Chris were more into mischief than actual trouble, but she still sometimes saw Kai with them.

Bonnie shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. The shawl she wore in place of a coat was thin. Without a word, Kol shrugged out of his leather jacket, draping it across her shoulders. Her mouth popped into a silent 'o' of surprise.

"Thank you."

"You're human, you should dress warmer. Not that I don't enjoy the view."

It wasn't supposed to be this cold tonight.

"And you ruined it. That was almost sweet."

Bonnie held up her hand to show him with her thumb and index finger how close he came to sweet.

Kol grinned in answer. He put his hand on her lower back and steered her to her friends. She sat down with Celestia, Jo and Cassie.

Kol saw they were drinking tea and screwed his face up. She nudged him to behave. She took out one of the wine coolers she brought and Kol his scotch.

"Old man," she murmured in a teasing undertone.

Kol chuckled.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Caroline and Elena were closer to the bonfire, chatting with a couple of the football players.

"And she has the nerve to pass judgement on you?" Kol whispered in her ear.

Bonnie groaned. She downed half the bottle in one go. She was definitely going to need alcohol to survive tonight.

Kol's fingers stroked her knee lightly making a shiver run down her spine. She moved, letting his hand fall away and he shifted closer.

Kol's cellphone rang and he left to take the call. Celestia watched him go for a moment before leaning forward, eyes sparkling.

"Dish girl! Who's better in bed?" Bonnie stayed back at her blankly. That feeling she felt with her Grams washed over her.

"Come on, who's better in bed Kai or Kol?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Wow, lying to family." Celestia shook her head.

"Family?"

Bonnie's eyes landed on Cassie, who shook her head.

"Third cousin. My dad kicked it and my mom couldn't handle being a single mom and a lone witch. So since us Bennetts avoid covens and have never formed one of our own…"

"She came to the Geminis for an alliance?" Bonnie suggested.

"Joshua Parker doesn't do alliances," Celestia chuckled.

Right, Kai had told her that. She had been hoping she was wrong.

"He doesn't. You're the exception, probably because of your connection to the Original family. The Geminis and them came to an agreement to keep from crossing each other a long time ago," Jo explained.

"But why didn't Grams mention you were here?"

"She probably doesn't know. Mom took dad's name – a first for a Bennett and dropped off the map."

"Your mom isn't much of a Bennett at all," Jo teased.

"Here," Cassie said offering her a cup of tea. "It's a potion. It'll keep the cold at bay."

Bonnie accepted it gratefully even with Kol's jacket and abrupt chill had set in. "Thanks."

The first sip alone was enough to make her toes and fingers tingle with warmth. She finished the cup and she felt warm from head to toe.

"DRINKING GAMES!" Someone hollered, Bonnie didn't see who.

The group made their way to a second smaller fire. Somehow, Kai managed to position himself straight across from Bonnie. She could tell by his smirk he did it on purpose. Just as she was fuming Kol returned sitting down next to her.

On her other side was Caroline and next to her was Elena. During the walk over, she had lost the other witches. But that was okay, she waved to Cassie, who was next to Kai. He was seated between her and Faye.

"Is something wrong?" Bonnie asked when Kol had a deep swig of his scotch bottle.

"No, just Elijah ringing to check in and ensure Bekah and I do not murder the locals."

"Well yeah because that would be bad."

"PARTY JUICE!" the Henderson brothers, Doug and Chris shouted in unison.

At this a bottle filled with something glowing and blue was passed around the circle. Each person had a sip before passing it on.

"Party juice?" Kol asked Jo, who was next to him, one eyebrow raised questioningly. He sounded both amused and intrigued.

"A Henderson specialty," Jo replied an unusual twinkle in her eyes. "Lowers inhibitions. Everyone thinks it's really strong hooch."

"How long does it last?" Bonnie asked eyeing it dubiously.

"Only a few hours. It is basically alcohol minus the hangover."

Bonnie noticed Kai passed it on. No one got on his case about it. She was under the impression he had a reputation as a bad boy. Maybe even dangerous. If that was the case it would definitely put a stop to the drinking pressure.

Which was a good thing. She did not think a sociopath even she with remarkable control like Kai should drink something that lowered his inhibitions.

Eventually it made its way to her. She had a tentative sip, who passed it to Kol. He sent it onward to Jo without drinking from it.

"Probably a good idea," she agreed.

"Yes, I don't think you would care for me when I've lost control," he wrapped his arm around her waist and she did not fight her natural inclination to lean against him. "Then there is my obligation to return you home safe."

"Mystic Falls here I come."

Kol groaned. "Home here in Portland."

"It's not my home," she mumbled head falling against his shoulder.

She could feel a comfortable haze settle across her mind as she finished off her second drink.

After a few rounds of the game, Jo spun the bottle and it pointed to Bonnie.

"Truth or dare?" she challenged rare mischief in her smile.

Bonnie grinned. Jo was letting her down for once and she wanted to do the same. They both needed it.

"Dare."

"I dare you to –" she waited while Celestia whispered the rest of the challenge in her ear. "Kiss the hottest boy here."

Bonnie looked between Kai and Kol. Obviously, it was one of them. Even the other cute guys at school were not in their league. Annoying as that might make the two of them.

Kai was better looking, but she was on a date with Kol.

Sort of.

Under the influence of the potion and alcohol, she was not convinced it was wrong to kiss another man while she was there with him. However, that small part of her that was still thinking knew she would be ashamed tomorrow.

"No fair! She's got a boyfriend!" one of the boys heckled.

"Boring!" another one cried.

Bonnie ignored him. She touched her lips to Kol's ear. "Don't be mad."

He stared at her, eyes and expression stony. She took his silence as a good sign. She got to her feet and crossed the circle. Kai watched her with heat in his gaze. She could feel Kol's eyes boring holes in the back of her neck.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Kai's face between her hands, kissing him. Kai was not caught off guard unlike what she thought. Lightning quick, he grabbed the back of her neck, taking control of it.

The crowd howled.

Kai's tongue traced the seam of her bottom lip, making her gasp. He took advantage of that to deepen the kiss. Heat flared up in her, it was raw and animalistic.

Unexpectedly he grabbed her by the thighs, pulling her on to his lap. She quickly recovered wrapping her arms around his neck, and continuing. Her legs were on either side of his waist and she could feel his growing hardness. It only further inflamed her.

At the back of her mind, she was dimly aware Kol would be growing murderous. A rage he would not take out on her or even Kai.

And that thought was what brought her back to her senses. Her protective senses overrode the haze in her brain.

She pulled away from Kai, careful not look at him. The magic and alcohol made it easy to lose herself, but it seemed to help when she reminded herself she would regret this decision later.

At least it helped a little.

"IT'S A TIE!" she announced.

The crowd howled and cheered. Dimly, Bonnie was aware she was not acting like herself. It was just a fleeting awareness that was not allowed free reign.

Instead, she kneeled down in front of Kol. He was still sitting there and watching her with impassive eyes.

"Don't be mad," she repeated in a whisper as she leaned forward.

Kol cracked half a smile. Then he grabbed her, crashing their lips together. This time she did not need any coaxing. She'd kissed Kol enough times it was becoming familiar.

It was the opposite of Kai's every bit as rigidly controlled, but that was where the comparison ended.

Where Kai's was raw, this was polished.

It had been hurried and animalistic this was slow and filled with want. It was not how Kol normally kissed her. The gentleness made her body shiver and moan in his mouth. She felt his smile.

As if determined to outdo the warlock, he tipped her backward, lying her down on her back and covering her body with his. Something inside of Bonnie exploded, her core ached and she pulled Kol closer. She could feel the hard lines of his body and his weight. It made her crave him in a more physical way.

All too soon, Kol broke away. He touched his forehead to hers. Breathing hard, their breaths mingled. His breath danced along her lips, making a thrill go through her.

Her stomach did a flip and she knew she was in trouble with him and with Kai.

"We have to stop or I'll take you right here, in front of everyone, little witch," his voice was rough and husky, a shiver of lust went through her.

"Don't stop," she breathed and it was part moan.

Visions of Kai joining them flashed through her mind's eye.

Kol chuckled. "Not here."

She saw herself with both men. She squeezed her eyes shut to will the images away.

What was wrong with her?

XXX

Kol sat back down, pulling the little witch to sit with him. After the kiss with her inhibitions gone, she was more than willing to let him encircle her in his arms and snuggle close as the game continued around them.

This he might have enjoyed more if he did not notice the heated looks she was exchanging with Kai. It would appear sociopath or not, she was attracted to him as well.

Perhaps she simply liked dangerous men. Kol had met enough women like that over the centuries to know it was a possibility. Or perhaps it was the psychic in her, recognizing that their futures were intertwined. She was still young enough she would be torn between running to it and from it.

Bonnie's doppelganger friend was dared to give a lapdance to Kai's uninteresting sister.

Kai winked at Bonnie and then he snuck away with one of the New England witches. Susie? Kol wasn't sure, she had a great chest, but he'd always preferred women with great bums.

However, it did give him an idea. The woods – it was private enough for him to have some time along with Bonnie. It was all he needed; he would have her begging him to take her by the end of the night.

He would not. Better to leave her wanting and craving his touch even after she sobered up. As it was, he could still smell the lingering scent of her arousal and feel how her breathing hitched whenever he ran his fingers teasingly along her spine. It was an intoxicating mix.

"Let's go."

"Where?" she murmured.

He was pleased when he heard no argument in the tone of her voice.

"The woods," he whispered liking how she shivered in anticipation. "I want to be alone with you, little witch."

"Why? So you can gobble me all up?" she asked turning her face up to his.

"No," he pecked her on the lips, catching her off guard. "I want to touch you. Feel your body –"

She shook her head.

Internally, he cursed himself. He'd grown impatient pushing her too far. She still did not trust him even with her inhibitions lowered she was not so foolish.

Clever witch.

"To talk?" he ventured.

"Sure, you can tell me about French court. The mona –" she drunkenly stumbled over the word. "You know that shouldn't still exist."

"As you wish."

He tried to be non-descript as they left yet a few people still noticed. The blonde friend waved while the doppelganger gave Bonnie a look worthy of Elijah. But at the last minute her look shifted to a sly smirk.

Curious, he thought before dismissing it.

He led Bonnie as far into the woods as he thought she would be comfortable. Behind them, light from the bonfire was still visible. At least it was for him.

Bonnie walked a little ahead of him before leaning against a tree. She raised a bottle of brightly colored alcohol to her lips. Earlier he'd noticed some of the other girls drinking something similar, it must be a new trend.

Kol boxed her in, resting his arm against the trunk he leaned down to make contact.

"Tell me about French court," she prodded a note of something impatient creeping into her voice.

He thought of the overdone fashion. The witches all strutting around as if they were the new Marie Antoinette. Which they were not. Kol had actually known Marie. She was a blast. Then down to earth, Bonnie there among them.

"You would hate it."

She raised a questioning brow.

Witches and warlocks more like politicians than supernaturals roaming the halls. All wanting more.

Power.

Wealth.

Status.

Yet not a witch among them that could match the Bennetts in style.

Except the Seer, Clarissa. She was…interesting.

"Trust me, little witch you would enjoy the human parts of France more."

"Kol! Kol, where the hell are you?" Rebekah's voice cut in loud and clear.

She was too far away for Bonnie to hear however, that did not stop her from pestering him.

"What do you want, sister?"

Bonnie peered up at him, the curiosity written clean across her face.

"Rebekah?" she mouthed.

He nodded.

"Kol!" Rebekah cried.

That was an urgent sound.

"Wait here," he told Bonnie. "And be careful."

"Why?"

"Not certain yet," he answered listening for any other signs something was wrong.

Rebekah was dramatic. It was just as likely something had happened, as it was that she broke a nail.

"'Kay."

Kol hesitated. She was intoxicated, but then she was a Bennett witch. She would be alright for the few minutes it would take him to return.

He kissed her forehead, murmuring another admonishment to be cautious. Then he took off at vampire speed in the direction of Rebekah's voice.

XXX

Bonnie felt the air shift as Kol ran away. She looked around at the forest. It was nearly pitch black and silent except for the sounds of the distant party. She decided she really didn't want to be out here drunk and alone.

Witch or not.

With Kol's warning ringing in her ears, she started walking back to the party. The sound of a girl giggling caught her attention.

Susan.

Kai and Susan.

Hooking up in the forest.

Bonnie tried to be quiet and tripped over a branch. She hit the ground, skinning her palms.

"Shit."

She heard footsteps and looked up just in time to see Kai arrive with Susan hot on his heels.

"Bunny?" He helped her to her feet. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was with Kol," she replied taking a step back.

"Uh-huh, and you weren't just spying on me?"

"Are you kidding me?" Bonnie exclaimed hands settling on her hips.

"I'm gonna go," Susan said.

Neither Bonnie or Kai paid her any attention as she hurried away. They barely even noticed far too intent on their argument.

"You're jealous! Admit it, Bunny you've become so used to me paying attention to you, you can't take it when I'm not!"

"YOU WISH!" Her rage was starting to sober her up.

"If you're not jealous, what was that kiss?"

"It was a dare, Kai. Don't read too much in to it."

"And the other time?"

"I kissed Kol. It only seemed fair."

"But you are into Kol, right?"

Was it her imagination or did he sound genuinely hurt? Did Kai actually care whatever tiny amount he was capable of about her? From his tone of voice right now, she could almost believe the impossible.

Sociopaths didn't care. And if Kai was about to start defying science it would not be for her.

Elena and Caroline, they were the kind of epic love type of girls guys always fell for.

Bonnie?

Not so much.

Realizing Kai was staring at her and that she had yet to give him an answer, she gave herself a mental shake.

"No, I'm not into either of you, but since you are determined to stop me from dating anyone else, I thought why not? I took a leaf out of Caroline's book."

Kai feigned snoring. Bonnie completely fed up, slapped his arm. His head shot up and he flashed a smile.

"I have to say, Bunny listening to you talk about your friends is suuuper boring. Don't they bore you?"

"Go to hell."

Bonnie walked away. She half-expected Kai to follow her, talking her ear off as she went. He didn't.

"Love watching you walk away!" he called after her.

She ignored him and kept going.

XXX

Kol stopped. Rebekah's purse was on the ground and her scent lingered in the air. It was accompanied by the smell of someone else. There was something familiar about it, but he could not place it.

Maybe Kai was right, he should start paying more attention to people.

In the distance, he heard Bonnie shouting. He sharpened his hearing. She was yelling at Kai. That was alright then, it meant she was not in any immediate danger. Happily, it also meant he stood an even better chance with her.

He took off once more in search of his sister. She would not have gone far and she was fortunately virtually impossible to kill.

XXX

Bonnie looked around. She realized her surroundings were not familiar and that she could no longer see the light from the bonfire. She had been following it.

How did she get lost?

She could call for Kol, he would be able to follow the sound of her voice. Then take her back to the party, but that would mean owing him a favor. Not something she wanted to do.

Instead, she took her phone out to use Google Maps. Only she did not have any reception.

She heard a twig snap behind her then everything went black.

XXX

Kai made it back to the party. He scanned the area for his favorite witchy cheerleader only to discover she was not there.

She left ahead of him and he'd made sure to give her enough of a head start she should be back by now.

Where was she?

Kol was not there either. So that's where she was. Off making out with her vampire boyfriend.

Images of Bonnie's fingers clutching Kol's shoulder, hips gyrating and her moans mingling with his, he saw red. Jealous anger built up inside of him until he was hot all over.

Bonnie was his.

Jealousy and sociopaths did not go well together. He knew this and as a result, he tried to avoid any form of attachment or possession.

He would not let his plans go to waste, years of careful planning down the drain all because he lost control for a moment. Normally he would not go after her, but he seemed unable to stop himself. The beast was out.

 **The responses to the last chapter completely blew me away, I love reading everyone's thoughts and what you're shipping ofc. As always leave a review and let me know what your favorite part was! If you are wondering Chaos will be back next Wednesday, real life has been hectic as I'm on vacay and I spent a good portion of yesterday in the emergency room with a relative, who is going to be okay. If you want to request a bonkai or Kennett drabble please leave me an ask on tumblr (fireismyelement97). Not trying to be a dick, but if you don't leave it in the ask box, there is a good chance I won't be able to find it again or will forget about it. If the ask-box isn't working let me know, and I'll make a note of it. To the guest reviewer that couldn't submit an ask, just leave the drabble as a review (I'll make an exception).**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Woah, no one has to die! Hope this has enough bonkai in it for you**


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Kai was stalking through the forest and circling back to where he left Bonnie. From there he would be able to track her. There was a spell that would take him straight to her, but he was out of luck, there was no magic left in his system.

That wouldn't stop him. After that kiss, the idea of Bonnie out here somewhere cementing her relationship to Kol was more than he could take.

When she kissed Kol in front of him, he decided to teach her a lesson by sneaking away with Susan. Now it seemed that his plan had backfired.

That tingling sensation at the base of his spine that told him a vampire was near appeared. Almost at the same time, Kol appeared in front of him.

"Where's Bonnie? She's being an awfully naughty girl sneaking into the woods at the night with an Original vampire," Kai chided.

Kol's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Last time I heard her voice she was with you."

"No, she stomped off all in a huff."

"That's not good. Bekah is missing as well."

"You mean your thousand year old, can't be killed sister?" Kai scoffed. "Right now I'd be more worried about the newbie witch, who barely knows how to use her powers."

"My thoughts exactly."

Kol sniffed the air.

Kai looked at him in disgust. Vampires and their sense of smell was useful, but it was still gross. Not to mention, just more of that nature defying crap that made vampires such low lives. Still if it helped them find Bonnie faster, he was willing to keep his mouth shut.

Kol must have picked up a scent because he started walking. Kai followed. The scent must be faint judging by the slow pace the vampire was keeping.

Without warning, Kol ran away. Growling, irritably he resigned himself to following his tracks.

XXX

Kol came to a stop behind a tree. He did not smell just Bonnie anymore.

The same scent that had been present with Rebekah was here too. It was familiar, but for the life of him, he could not place it.

He snuck a glance around the tree. Bonnie was lying on the ground with that weakling witch. The one that looked like the sickly. The sort of child that never survived into adulthood in the past unless they were royalty, even then they rarely lived long. It would seem times truly had changed.

Shane – at least Kol thought his name was Shane was standing over her. He had his back to Kol.

"It has to be done," Shane was whispering.

Kol snifed the air and listened for another presence. He was alone except for Bonnie, whose heart beat was so weak she must be unconscious.

Who was the boy talking to?

Kol ran forward and threw Shane, Sage or whatever his name was across the clearing. He hit a tree with a crack and fell to the ground.

"Sorry to interrupt, darling," he said with a smirk. "But that happens to be my little witch you attacked."

To his amazement, Sean rose to his feet.

Or maybe it was Shane.

Weakling, Kol decided to simply think of him as that. Thought he must be magically reinforced because he did not look as if he could levitate a pencil, let alone survive a fight with an Original.

"Motus."

This time, Kol went soaring through the air. He hit the ground and growled. In a flash, he was back on his feet.

"It must be done," the Weakling said.

Kol ran at him, he clutched his throat. Slamming him against the nearest tree hard enough it shook.

Kai came running in to the clearing. Kol glanced over his shoulder in time to see him crouching down next to Bonnie.

"She has a pulse."

Kol nodded, refocusing his attention on the kid. He'd known she was alive.

"Why? Now I must kill you," Kol returned.

"And then daddy dearest aka the Gemini coven leader will get his panties all in a bunch? Now why'd you have to cause this much trouble, huh Adam?"

"That's not my name," the Weakling complained. "But it is of no consequence."

Kol raised brows. He might be out of touch with the times, but even he knew teenage boys today did not speak in that manner.

Possession? Or something else?

"What's going on?" Bonnie's voice was barely audible.

Kai must have found a way to revive her.

"Not sure, Bunny."

Kol momentarily distracted did not see what was happening before it was too late.

The Weakling tossed water at him and set him on fire. Then he was soaring across the clearing once more.

XXX

Bonnie saw Sean light Kol on fire. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream. Her voice was cracked, nearly gone.

"He attacked you," Kai said before grabbing her wrist. She whimpered as pain ripped through her. "Sorry, Bunny."

He let her go and she was left feeling even weaker than she had moments before.

"Don't," she rasped.

She'd been lost. The memory flashed back to her some hit her over the head.

Sean did that?

Was that why he had wanted to make sure she came to the party tonight?

Kol landed clean across the clearing. He was still on fire, she wanted to help, but she could not even make to a sitting position.

Had Sean hexed her?

Kai stood up, holding up a hand he slammed Sean against a tree trunk, holding him there. Kol had managed to put out the flames. He flashed forward and knocked Sean unconscious. Kai released the spell, letting him fall to the ground.

"Do we kill him?" Kol asked kicking Sean.

"Nah, the oh great leader will want to interrogate him."

Kai kneeled down to her again. He looked her over, eyes raking her face.

"I think he used magic on me."

"Probably something to temporarily sap your energy," Kai mused. "You alright?"

"I'll live. Thanks," she stated dryly.

"Don't mention it."

"I'm certain you will find a way to repay us, little witch."

Bonnie groaned. The last thing she wanted was to be in their debt.

"Give her some of your blood, patch her up," Kai said.

"No," she shook her head or tried to. Her whole body still felt too heavy. "I just need to rest."

"No need to put on a brave face, Bunny."

"He's right."

"No. If something happens when I have your blood in my system," again she shook her head. "I won't risk it."

"Suit yourself, Bonster."

"I have to find Rebekah," Kol said. "Take care of her, Kai."

"With pleasure."

Kai levitated Sean, taking him with them.

Kol flashed away.

Kai called Jo, magically boosting his phone reception. He told her to gather the coven and Bonnie's 'less hot' friends. They needed to get back to the house. Then he carried her and levitated Sean back to the car.

Bonnie was still shook up after the attack. Her head hurt and she turned her face into the crook of Kai's neck. He smelled fresh and a little like alcohol. She didn't care that he was a complete psycho, she let his warmth seep into her and relaxed in his arms.

He stowed Sean in the trunk of the car under a sleeping spell. Bonnie waited in the car and was relieved when he managed it before the others caught up with them. With no vampires around to compel Caroline, the unconscious warlock would be tough to explain.

"What happened?" Caroline demanded when she trooped up to the car with Elena and the rest of the Parkers.

The New England witches drove up with Nick.

"Bunny here had a touch too much to drink," Kai explained with a mischievous smile.

Caroline crossed her arms and gave him a strange look.

"So? Why are you taking her back? What happened to your date, Bonnie?"

"His sister had an emergency. You know how sisters are, always needing their brothers to bail them out of trouble, am I right, sissy?"

"Excuse me, is your name Bonnie?" Caroline exclaimed.

"No, I'm Kai, but your BFF Bunny will be screaming my name by the end of the night."

"Oh my God, Kai! Just shut up and take us home already!" Bonnie cried in exasperation.

"See?" he grinned and pointed to her.

"KAI!" his siblings plus Bonnie all shouted at once.

XXX

Kai carried Bonnie into the living and put her down on the couch. Caroline sat down next to her, stroking her hair. Elena stood in the front door way just outside of the house watching them.

"Get in here already," Kai said waving for her impatiently.

Elena stepped inside and came to stand in a chair across from Bonnie. Caroline kept fussing over her, fingers stroking her hair.

"I'm alright, Care."

"I know and tomorrow morning I am going to tell you how stupid you were."

Bonnie thought that was ironic since Caroline always ended up drinking too much at parties, but did not comment.

"Leave her alone, it happens," Elena said then seeing their surprised expressions she carried on. "What matters is that Bonnie is fine."

"Which I am."

Kai wandered in. He held his hand out whispering a spell under his breath. The effect was almost immediate. The blonde fell asleep.

"Why did you do that?" Bonnie grumbled knowing with Kai it could have been a lot worse.

"Because dear old dad is on his way. We are going to have to a little family meeting, Original vampires included."

"Backyard?"

"Yup, and too bad for Esther here, it's supernaturals only so you go on up to bed and pretend to be asleep," Kai told her bouncing on the heels of his feet.

"But I know –"

"He's right, 'Lena. It's better if Joshua doesn't find out you know. I have no idea what he would do to protect the secrecy of his coven."

"Kill her," Kai answered bluntly. "Just having you and Carol as a guest is pushing it. He's doing it to score points with Sheila, now beat it."

Muttering to herself Elena went upstairs. For a brief moment, Bonnie thought there was something off about Elena's walk. She walked with too much wiggling then she shook her head, wondering if she wasn't still too drunk for this.

Before she could get up, Kai was lifting her into his arms. She might have protested, but with her whole body aching and limp from exhaustion, she did not complain.

Kai put her down on a bench in the backyard, sliding in next to her. Kol flashed in on the other side, making her squeak in surprise.

"Stop doing that," she grumbled the words coming out in an exhausted sigh.

"Apologies, little witch."

The rest of the coven including Kai's siblings trickled in sitting down in a circle. There were only faces she recognized from school.

"This isn't the whole Gemini coven, is it?"

"Of course not," Kai scoffed. "Give or take, we are nearly two hundred members. Dad will convey anything that is said here back to the coven."

"Huh."

The biggest coven in North-America. An army of witches and warlocks. All under the command of Joshua Parker. It was a disturbing thought.

Kai draped an arm around her and she shot him a dirty look.

"Trust me, Bunny it is better if the old windbag coven leader thinks you are little too chummy with me rather than the Original player."

"Hardly an apt description," Kol drawled. "However, you are not wrong."

"So since you're here, you must have found Rebekah."

"See for yourself."

She followed Kol's gaze to see Rebekah sitting on the roof. Her feet dangled over the edge in a stylish pair of black boots. The blonde gave a little wave with her fingers.

Something about that made Bonnie uneasy. She attempted a smile and she felt sure it was more sheepish than friendly. Joshua Parker chose that moment to join them. He strode forward to the front of the gathering.

"I've detained Sean," he announced.

"Detained where? Is he okay?" Bonnie asked.

"Why are you concerned about the well-being of your attacker?"

"Because that wasn't Sean, not really. It couldn't have been. He isn't strong enough to take out me, and hold off Kol and Kai for that long. Not to mention whatever he did to Rebekah."

Jo and Cassie nodded their agreement.

Joshua's expression darkened and Kai pulled her closer. Then Joshua's expression changed again as he studied that gesture. It was as if he was trying to read what was going on between her and his son.

Nothing! Bonnie wanted to scream at him, but it wasn't exactly true.

"It would seem so. Now would someone kindly fill me in on the rest."

Kol and Kai took turns explaining until it was just Bonnie left to explain how someone jumped her in the forest.

"You got lost following the light?" Joshua paused thoughtfully. "He must have cast a spell to disorient you."

"Probably," Bonnie admitted with a shrug. However, she was not about to admit to Joshua she had no idea such a spell existed.

"He must have done the same to you and Rebekah. His goal must have been to take out anyone that could stand between him and the Bennett girl, but why you?" Joshua fixed her with a look that clearly said he expected her to know.

"I don't know," Bonnie muttered wrapping her arms around herself. "You should probably talk to Grams."

"I will."

"Then kill the little twerp. He kept saying he needed to kill Bonnie that she must be out of the way, that it was better if she was gone," Kol interjected.

"I will deal with him as I see fit."

"Kill him or I will," Kol growled. "Let's go Bex."

Kol stood and Rebekah jumped lightly down from the roof. Together they walked away into the darkness.

His threat still lingered in the air.

XXX

It felt like hours later to Bonnie when she was trying and failing to sleep. The room was too full with Jo, Elena and Caroline all present. It was like at camp, but in even more cramped quarters.

It did not help that she didn't feel safe here. Sean – a Gemini warlock, someone she liked tried to kill her tonight. If it hadn't been for Kai and Kol, she would be dead right now.

She felt something, a pull as if there was somewhere else she should be. Her Grams said she was psychic.

Was that what this feeling was?

If it was what would her Grams tell her to do now?

Easy, she would tell her to be open to it, give in to the feeling.

And that was exactly what Bonnie did.

Her feet walked away. Without her volition and she did not realize where she was going until she was there. She stood underneath the trapdoor to Kai's room. The only problem now was how to get up there without waking the entire house. That would be hard to explain.

"Kai!" she called as loud as she dared. "Kai! Are you awake?"

She fell silent and heard the sound of someone moving around.

It was followed by Kai teleporting in next to her. She stifled a surprised scream with her hands and stumbled back.

Kai reached for her. She felt the touch of his hand on her arm. Then as if she was being sucked into something. She squeezed her eyes closed.

"You can open your eyes now, Bunny."

Bonnie saw she had landed with her feet firmly planted in his room.

"Wow, you are teaching me how to do that."

Her eyes fell on Kol, who was lounging in the window seat.

"Greetings, little witch."

"What are you doing here? I thought you left."

"I did. I escorted Bekah to my flat and returned."

"The real question is what are you doing here, Bunny? Coming to the room of a sociopath in the middle of the night," he took a step toward her eyes scorching before breaking into a smile. "Oooh, were you feeling naughty? Because I live to serve."

"No, you pig." She rolled her eyes. "I don't actually know I just had this feeling and since I couldn't sleep I followed it."

"It would seem you are the latest in a long line of Bennett psychics little witch. Likely you sensed our presence."

"Huh, so I knew you were here and Joshua doesn't?"

"Nope," Kai said with a gleeful smile.

"How did you even get in? Someone as paranoid as Joshua has to have something set up so he knows when a vampire is in his home."

"I gave him a day pass. I'm pretty badass when it comes to wards."

"Impressive," she stated dryly, giving Kai an exasperated look.

"You would think being a part of your rescue team would have earned me a little gratitude, am I right?"

"Yes, thank you. I appreciate that the two of you took time off from murdering people to save me."

"Do you think Bunny's psychic abilities might have made her a target?" Kol suggested.

"I do," Kai agreed.

Bonnie sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Why? And don't talk about me like I am not here," she complained.

"Psychics can be pesky," Kai answered way too chipper for the late hour. "Especially for someone who is trying to execute a nefarious plan."

"Whoever is behind that attack must have known you could potentially sense whatever they are doing," Kol added sounding thoughtful.

"Wow, being a witch sucks."

Bonnie fell back on the bed to stare at the ceiling.

"Tell me about it," Kai said joining her.

Kol scooted in on her other side. Bonnie groaned when she realized she was sandwiched in between the two boys.

Kai reached out for her hand while Kol wrapped his arms around her.

"This is so weird," she muttered.

"So young," Kol chastised.

Making Bonnie think she really did not want to know what Kol thought was weird.

"We both like you, take it as a compliment, Bonster."

"Ugh, still better than being downstairs, I have no idea who snores worse Caroline or Jo."

Kol snorted unimpressed with reasoning, but Kai chortled.

Kol pulled her closer, burying his nose in the nape of her neck. Kai squeezed her hand.

"Thanks," she mumbled, sleep was already starting to claim her.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to repay us, Bunny," Kai's tone of voice was insinuating.

"Pig."

"You can rest assured our motivation was entirely selfish. Sleep, little witch."

Before she could tell them they are idiots and of course she would never forget what they were she was asleep.

XXX

Bonnie woke because sunlight had begun to pour in through the window. In her sleep, she had rolled closer to Kai. His arm was over her stomach while Kol's face was still buried in her hair. She blushed realizing she had slept for hours like this between the two of them. Her Grams would be furious and it might actually kill her dad.

She rolled over and Kol raised up on his elbow, head resting in the palm of his hand. He signaled for her to be quiet. She understood he didn't want her to wake Kai, he wanted this time alone with her.

He pointed to the window. She understood that too. He needed to be gone before Joshua woke and he discovered a vampire in his home.

She nodded.

Kol leaned forward. His lips brushed hers in a feather light kiss. His fingers stroked her hair. It was only the briefest of touches before he was gone. Bonnie sighed and closed her eyes, wanting to get a few minutes of sleep or even better a few hours.

Kai shifted in his sleep pulling her closer. She felt his lean well-muscled body and a thrill of something electric went through her. The soft sounds of his even breathing filled her ears and unlike with the girls at camp and downstairs this didn't annoy her.

She rolled over. She took a moment to observe him without his knowing. Kai was hot. The memory of kissing him last night threatened to overwhelm her. Her cheeks were scalding and her whole body tingled. How could a violent sociopath one she knew for a fact was a killer, affect her this way? Even if he had never hurt her, even if he did save her last night. But Kol was right that was because of their own selfish reasons.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Kai mumbled.

Bonnie jumped back, startled. He encased her in his arms pulling her to him.

"How long have you been awake?"

"My spidey-senses are tingling, telling me a hot girl is checking me out."

"Ugh," she complained.

She pushed on his chest. It came as no shock that he would not budge.

"Give me a kiss, Bon."

Before she could react one way or the other, his lips were over hers. He kissed her stealing her breath away and she let him. She didn't really know why she kept letting them kiss her. They were good kissers that obviously counted for something then there was that it just didn't seem so serious after the first time. It wasn't as if they would ever get any further anyway.

Kai kept kissing her, it was slow and filled with want. It was making her head spin and she knew she needed to take control.

She pushed Kai on to his back and this time he let her. She climbed on top of him, legs on either side of his hips. Through the thin material of her pajamas and his black sweats, she could feel his growing hardness. Still kissing him slowly she rocked her hips. He stiffened further and heat shot through her. She blushed realizing this had completely backfired because she was wet and her core throbbed in a way that was almost painful.

Bonnie pulled back hands on his chest to steady herself. Her breathing was heavy and Kai's was at least as ragged. She looked into his eyes and that was a huge mistake. He was looking at her with a heady mix of lust and awe. What she herself was feeling was reflected back at her and she could not take it.

What had happened?

Her body still flush and raw after the encounter, she struggled to think.

"Iii – I – I –" she took a deep breath and tried again. "I have to get back before anyone notices I'm gone. Explaining where I've been would be really awkward."

"I'll teleport you back to your room, but I'll need a little of your magic, Bon-Bon."

"Do not call me that."

"Whatever you say, Buffy."

Sometimes, Bonnie wondered if Kai wasn't trapped in the 90's.

Deciding to ignore him she held her wrist out to him. He traced the lines of her wrist the pulse points teasingly at first, then he latched on. No matter how prepared she was for the pain it still caught her off guard. It tore through her like her skin was being ripped off. She bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood to keep from screaming.

When Kai stopped he was grinning, a look of pleasure on his face. Seeing her expression he caressed her bottom lip with his thumb, it was oddly soothing.

"Sorry, Bunny," his voice was husky and it made her think thoughts she shouldn't.

"We have to go."

Kai nodded.

XXX

Kai cooked breakfast like he did every morning, even putting on a pot of coffee. He was the first one up. He didn't care after this morning with Bonster he was wired. He could feel her magic coursing through him. He played music, singing along.

All of his racket must have woken Joshua because he stumbled into the kitchen.

"Turn that racket down."

Kai complied, but started to whistle. "You're grumpy."

Joshua grunted. "I have to go see the council. You should come, boy."

"Don't want to leave the others alone with whatever was going on."

That was a lie. He did not want to leave Bonnie alone with Kol. Who knew what would have happened between them by the time he returned?

"Good. Coven first. I am certain you and Josette can handle things for a few days."

Like always, Kai thought.

Joshua filled a travel mug with coffee.

"One more thing, boy. Keep the Originals away and the humans in the dark."

"Coven first," Kai echoed keeping the mockery from his voice.

Joshua left without another word.

It wasn't long after Bonnie shuffled downstairs with Annie and Katie in either hand. Elena and Caroline walked behind her, Jo was not down yet, but she was probably with the twins. Joey and Kyle wouldn't be up until at least noon.

Bonnie didn't look at him as she reached past him to pour herself a cup of coffee. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Morning Bunny, how'd you sleep?"

"Like I was sandwiched between two complete psychos."

Kai chortled. "Feisty."

He winked at her and when she turned around, he slapped her ass. Bonnie turned around long enough to flip him off. No one else seemed to notice.

XXX

Later that afternoon when she, Elena and Caroline and Jo were all out in the backyard enjoying the sun, Bonnie was still mad at Kai. Why did he have to be such a jerk?

The kids were on the swing set and running around. She had been in the Parker household long enough now the screams of kids was just background noise, but she could tell Caroline was sick of it. Even the normally kid-friendly Elena put in her earphones.

"I think you mean psycho, Care," Elena corrected in a purr.

That had Bonnie looking twice at her. "What's up with the curls today, Lena?"

Elena shrugged. "I needed a change and don't change the subject. We are worried about you."

"Don't be."

"Come on, Bon dish! It's us! You don't have to lie to us!" Caroline exclaimed.

"They both like me and I don't really like either of them –"

"Except you do?" Elena prodded.

Bonnie blushed and nodded. She still hadn't worked out what it made her that she wanted two boys at the same time or for wanting those two in particular.

"It's alright to want them both, you know," Elena told her.

Bonnie not sure it was, didn't answer.

Luckily the group broke up not long after. Her friends were going back to Mystic Falls that afternoon. Bonnie wished they could stay longer, it was so weird being here in Portland without any familiar faces. She thought it was taking her longer to settle in because she had always liked living in Mystic Falls.

It didn't help that the Geminis were sort of creepy.

Bonnie walked Elena and Caroline to the driveway at the same time Rebekah pulled up in her car.

"You're leaving too?" Bonnie asked the female Original.

A part of her had hoped she would stay a while because she suspected having his sister around helped Kol control his temper.

"Yes, however, I'll be back in a week or two. I think. To be honest, I can't decide if Mystic Falls or Portland is duller."

"Don't know, never lived anywhere else," Bonnie replied.

The girls were just getting in Rebekah's car when Kol arrived. He hugged his sister goodbye and came to sit with Bonnie on the porch steps. They watched as the little car sped away.

"You didn't mention you were friends with Katerina Petrova or Katherine Pierce, whatever she is calling herself these days."

 **How's everyone's week been so far and any fun plans for the weekend? I'm going to eat as much junkfood as I can get my hands on. Thank you to everyone reading this fic and who have stuck with it! In a couple of chapters the chapters will be brand new as in never seen before! So thank you all for the continued support. As always, please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter. What do you think Katherine is up to?**

 **\- Izzy**

 **Bonkaifan4life: Thanks for reviewing and reading! :) Yeah, it was sweet of Kai to arrange the visit, but since he's still a sociopath he only did it to score points with Bonnie. Lol, there is definitely going to be violence as this fic goes on, so if you're bloodthirsty you're in the right place!**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

 **To the anon on tumblr, ask and you shall receive an update!**

Kol sauntered past Rebekah's car. The doppelganger strutted past, hips swinging and she smiled a predatory smile that made him think for a brief moment that Elena might be more interesting than she appeared. Then she tossed her curls and smirked at him. He raised a brow, and she lifted a finger to her lips, winking at him.

Katerina, he smirked at the thought. He had suspected it was her last night.

He liked her. She was fun, certainly far more interesting than any of Elijah's other dalliances. What was his brother's fascination with tedious women anyhow?

Kol sat down on the steps next to Bonnie. The little witch looked sad.

"You didn't mention you were friends with Katerina Petrova or Katherine Pierce or whatever she is calling herself these days."

"Excuse me?" Bonnie said, head jerking to the side abruptly.

Her shock was palpable. Kol assumed Bonnie knew it was Katerina. After all, she was psychic. She should have worked it out long before him. But she was new to her powers.

"That is not your doppelganger, little witch. That is Elijah's former paramour, I know her rather well."

"Oh my God."

"Jealous?" he asked hopefully.

"No, terrified. This is bad, so, so bad."

"I thought you knew you and were trying to discern her motives," he grinned. "Except you didn't. Excellent, I love Katherine's games."

"She's just left for Mystic Falls with my best friend and your sister! She could have killed Elena!"

"Doubtful, Niklaus needs her. As for Rebekah, I will text her. You have heard of texting have you not, little witch? Marvellous invention."

"We don't want Klaus to get Elena! And I am more worried about Caroline than your un-killable sister!"

"As you wish. Fetch Kai and let's follow them."

"Finally, you make sense!"

XXX

A sense of relief, gratitude and excitement at the thought of going home completely overwhelmed her. Without giving it a second thought, Bonnie threw her arms around Kol's neck. His arms went around her slowly and robotically.

It felt a little awkward and when she pulled back, she found herself wondering how long it had been since Kol actually hugged someone. At least a few centuries based on that hug.

"However, you stay with myself or Kai at all times, little witch. Neither Joshua or Sheila can ever find out about this. Neither can Elijah, he'll rat us out for certain. These are my conditions. Otherwise, I am not willing to risk the prophecy or break my word. Not for your silly friends."

"Deal, but what about Rebekah?"

"My sister is perfectly capable of handling Katherine. It is Elijah I am concerned with."

When they first met, Kol alluded to the fact that Elijah liked doppelgangers. Bonnie knew some people had a type, but that was really specific.

"Great. Now we just have to get on the road and figure out what Katherine is up to."

"Spying on Nik's family no doubt. It's how she's managed to evade him for five hundred years. I should know, I've caught her on a few occasions, we've been on a few benders. As I've said, she's a blast," he told her with a wicked grin.

Bonnie's stomach churned. Partly with horror and partly with an emotion she refused to acknowledge.

"Creepy, but I am going to want the full story in the car. I'll get Kai."

Bonnie didn't wait to hear Kol's answer before she was on her feet and practically running into the house. Unsurprising, Kai was in the kitchen. He was eating bacon straight out of the pan. For a moment, she stopped staring at him in sheer disgust before she shook her head and managed to get the whole story out in one breathless rush.

Kai stared at her, one brow raised and head tilted to the side. A clear indicator she had his attention even if he might not be totally convinced to go on a road trip.

"Why would I want to go to Mystic Falls? If we are planning an out of Portland jailbreak for you –" She gaped at him. "That's right, Bunny I know all about the little prophecy."

"Yeah, okay that's an explanation for another time. So will you come?"

"Like I was saying before you so rudely interrupted," he said shaking his head in an 'oh you' kind of a way with a grin. "If we are going on a road trip why don't we go somewhere more interesting? What about the White House? I'm thinking a witch, a warlock and an Original vampire should be able to break in. Ooh, we can take a picture of me by the window looking all J.F.K, you can join me. You can be my Jackie O."

"Pass." She rolled her eyes. "You don't have to come, but don't tell your dad."

"No chance, Bunny. There is no way you are going on a road trip with Kol without me," Kai countered with a chipper smile.

"Fine, but we have to go like right now. Katherine is pretending to be Elena, who knows what she's done to the real Elena and what she is up to. I bet she is probably planning on handing her over to that psycho Klaus."

"Can you believe Kol is the less psychotic brother?" Kai asked that happy little boy smile still in place.

"That's still to be determined. Just because he doesn't want to create a whole pack of hybrid slaves does not mean he is any more sane. He's just a different kind of psychotic," Bonnie countered rolling her eyes again and hoping Kol heard her. It would deflate his enormous ego, at least a little.

XXX

An hour later and Kai had convinced Jo to hold down the fort while they executed their crazy, half-baked plan of following the others back to Mystic Falls. It was a task that was difficult, but not impossible probably because Jo unlike Kai did not know that she was banned from Mystic Falls for life by her Grams.

And Kol.

Stupid Kol, Bonnie thought angrily.

Yet it was hard to stay angry with him as they whipped along the road in her practical Toyota hybrid. There wasn't enough room for all of their luggage in his Ferrari and Jo needed Kai's car. Kol was behind the wheel and he was driving it like it was his Ferrari. Kai had juiced it up with some borrowed magic from her and it was driving like it was a Ferrari too.

All Bonnie had to do was sit in the backseat and worry. She wrung her hands, waiting for Rebekah to text Kol back. After several hours, she did answer saying they were safe and to stop pestering her. Kol could tell by the language it was definitely his sister. Something that reassured Bonnie at least somewhat because that meant Caroline was probably still alright.

It was hours later when they drove in to the outskirts of Mystic Falls. The house was more of a cabin, but it was large and luxurious. It was modern and Bonnie could tell it would be comfortable as well stylish in an understated kind of a way just by looking at the exterior.

Kai, who was driving now, parked the car right in front of the main doors. He surveyed the house and let out an impressed whistled.

"Nice digs."

"It's Elijah's place. I'm certain he won't mind us borrowing it while he is in New Orleans following a lead with Sheila."

"Wait – what? My Grams is where?" Bonnie demanded wanting to know why she hadn't heard about this trip or why her grandmother wasn't at work.

"New Orleans, that's what I said, little witch," Kol replied with his trademark smirk and stepped out of the car.

Kai chortled and followed. Realizing she wasn't going to get a decent answer out of Kol or Kai, assuming he knew what was going on. She too got out of the car.

The house was even more amazing on the inside. It had high ceilings and windows that stretched wall to wall from ceiling to floor. Kol led the way to the guest rooms. He had a room at the far end of the hall of the place and there were two available bedrooms in his wing.

Yeah, the house had wings. Bonnie and Kai exchanged looks at that behind Kol's back.

Bonnie's room had an attached bathroom and a huge canopy bed. There was even a skylight. She flopped down on the bed, staring up at the dark night sky. There was something peaceful about finally being here that she forgot her problems.

Mystic Falls.

The thought that she was home was almost overwhelmingly good. She had thought she would never come back here again, not even for a second. She closed her eyes and refused to think about how she was only back for a little while. In this moment Bonnie was peaceful enough she could feel herself starting to drift off to sleep.

Of course, that meant Kol and Kai were going to disturb her. They flopped down on either side of her and she groaned.

"Go away."

"Bon-Bon, do you want to order take-out?" Kol crooned.

"I looove take-out, are you in, Bunny?"

"Dear God, go away," she groaned. As if on cue her stomach rumbled. She blushed knowing both boys would be smiling in that self-satisfied way they had. "But a girl's gotta eat even if it is with you two psychos."

"Psychos that broke into his unkillable brother's house," Kai added with a smile that was far too chipper for the situation.

"Lucky for you lot, Elijah is the more reasonable brother."

The whole conversation was absurd enough she actually started to laugh.

XXX

Kai was happily munching on his mushu-pork, watching TV and inconspicuously watching Bonnie out of the corner of his eye. He was sitting on the couch, feet on the coffee table – Kol hadn't protested, he'd actually followed suit. While Bonnie sat down at a safe distance in one of the big comfy armchairs. Now they were watching reruns of old 70's shows. Kai had a love of them as did Bonnie whereas Kol, had no idea what any of them were. Kai had the feeling Kol didn't watch a lot of TV.

"So what's the plan anyway?" Bonnie asked having a sip of coke.

"Nothing tonight. Whatever evil scheme Katherine is executing it won't happen yet. She's likely spying, watching and learning. She'll put it all in motion in a day or two, would be my guess," Kol replied glancing dejectedly at his noodles.

Kai read hunger in his eyes and assumed he was craving something stronger. He wasn't about to offer and neither would Bonnie, which meant tonight after Bonnie was asleep the vampire would go hunting. Kai would like to go as well. Hunting with vampires was good fun except someone needed to stay with Bonnie. That stupid prophecy meant she was in danger every second she was in Mystic Falls. Prophecies could play out in the most unpredictable ways. A fact Bonnie was either too new to witchcraft or too stubborn to realize.

"Are you sure? Why else would she tip her hand by letting you know who she was if she wasn't going to strike tonight?"

"Because little witch, ordinarily I allow Katherine to scheme and murder her way through whatever city she happens to find herself in. If the mood strikes, I even help. At the very least, I don't tell."

"But you told me."

"Yes, well," he curled his lip distastefully. "I assumed you might be upset if something happen to your silly little friend. Not to mention, it may put a spoke in Elijah's plan if she is running around unchecked."

"Oh," Bonnie said glancing to Kai, who winked at her. Blushing, she looked away.

Kai fake stretched and yawned. "Well I don't know about you two, but I am beat. I'm going to bed. What about you, Bunny?"

"I am actually, _alone_. I noticed the door has a lock on it," Bonnie said getting to her feet and already starting to walk out of the living room.

Kai chuckled. She talked a good game, but Bonnie had a soft spot for the two of them. "You're the one that crawled into my bed, Buffy!" he called after her.

"That's not my name!" her voice carried down the hallway.

He laughed and Kol was chuckling.

"I don't think she likes you, mate," he said still laughing.

"Puh-lease, the hostility is obviously a front," Kai scoffed. "Are you going out?"

"Just as soon as the little witch is asleep. I'd rather be out hunting than listening to her chew me out for a crime I've yet to even commit."

"Easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission," Kai agreed in a sing-song voice.

Kol kept half an eye on the TV while Kai could tell he was in reality eavesdropping on Bonnie. Once again, Kai found himself envying his vampire hearing. He knew a handy little spell that would let him listen in as well, but he was currently out of magic.

It wasn't long before Kol grinned.

"And she's asleep. Cheers, mate."

Kol disappeared in one of those fast blurs that vampires ran away in. Kai whistling cheerily to himself sauntered off in the direction of Bonnie's room. If she had locked the door, he would leave well enough alone, but if not well then he saw no reason why he couldn't sleep in there too.

Sleeping next to Bonnie had been amazing. Normally he slipped out before the girl fell asleep, having no interest in the overnighter, but it had been a new experience and one he wanted to have again.

Bonnie's room was dark, the curtains were drawn. He crept inside as quiet as he could. The only sound was Bonnie's soft breathing. She sounded peaceful. Then she groaned and he realized she was having a nightmare.

Grinning, Kai slipped underneath the covers with her. He pulled her small frame into his arms, humming softly under his breath. Bonnie's scared whimpers disappeared and she turned around, pressing her face into his chest.

"Kai?" she mumbled sounding as if she were still half-asleep.

"Me," he answered unable to keep the grin out of his voice. There was something wonderful about knowing Bonnie recognized him even in her sleep.

"You have a nice singing voice," she continued still mumbling.

Kai ran his fingers along her spine, making her shiver. "I love sleepy you. How come you never give me compliments when you're awake, Bunny?"

Bonnie stirred again, pushing on him more alert now. He pulled her back to him.

"Cause you're a jerk."

That made him laugh. "So does this count as a date?"

"Pretty cheap date, so I'm going to go with a 'no'," Bonnie answered sitting up and watching him. Her brow furrowed. "What are you doing in here?"

"Why didn't you lock the door?"

She shrugged pulling the covers protectively around herself. "Guess I forgot."

"I think you like me. Admit it, Bon you've got a soft spot for this budding sociopath."

She sucked her breath in, shocked. "Don't," she breathed. "Don't call yourself that! You're only eighteen I refuse to believe you are an incurable psycho. Kol's like a thousand I'm pretty sure there's no hope for him, but you're –" she was at a loss for a moment before that stubborn look that infuriated him and ignited him at the same time. "You're younger."

"So you do care," his grin widened, he couldn't help himself.

"Knock it off, Kai. Just because I don't want you to be a sociopath doesn't mean I care. It's not like you care about me."

"I like you, Bon. And you're wrong; I do care about some people."

"What like Jo and your other siblings?"

"Just Jo, she's less annoying than most," he confided with a wink. "And I like Kol. We're friends, I've never really had a friend before and then there's you. We're friends, I like you and you like me. I think we're more than friends," he continued wiggling his eyebrows flirtatiously at her.

"It doesn't count if neither of us feels anything real. Lust is –" she cleared her throat and he couldn't be sure in the dark room, but he thought she was blushing. "Lust isn't the same thing."

She sounded so sure, so confident in her assessment in the different emotions that it made him hesitate. He paused and thought it over. Lust and caring about someone, he guessed they weren't the same not really. He lusted after plenty of girls, but he did not care about any of them. He cared about Jo – to an extent because she would one day make him coven leader, but he did not lust after her. Even to him, a supposed monster found that repulsive.

Bonnie, he liked her. He didn't just want to possess her and move on like he did with most girls. He found himself wanting to hang out with her, read Grimoires together and hear what she had to say. He liked that she was tougher than she looked and that she was never afraid to clapback.

"No, you're right. I like you, Bunny. More than I ever have another girl before. It's kind of weird, it's like you're stuck right here," he tapped the side of his head. "You know?"

Bonnie stared back at him eyes wide. "Are you for real right now?"

"Of course I am," he rolled his eyes. "Do you think I spend this much time trying to convince a girl I care unless I actually do? Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm like mega-hot and don't need to go to this much trouble just to get the girl."

Bonnie laughed. "I guess not. Too bad about your personality."

Kai had to admit that was pretty funny. He chortled. "What can I say, Bonster, I'm a bit twisted. But I think you like it."

Not wanting to give her the chance to think of yet another reply that would only be another lie about how much she disliked him. Kai leaned in and kissed her briefly on the lips. She sucked in her breath before releasing a soft sigh when he pulled away. Her fingertips touched her lips lightly and she looked at him again with that wide-eyed expression.

"What did you do that for?"

"Felt like it," he offered up as an excuse.

"Okay, but just so we are clear, this does not count as a date."

"And why not?"

"Because all you did was climb into bed with me!"

Kai was struck with sudden inspiration. "Hold that thought."

He was out of bed and gone before Bonnie could do much more than mutter about 'crazy warlocks'. Whistling he set off for the kitchen, finding every snack he could before returning to Bonnie, who was now sitting on her phone.

XXX

"Put that thing away, we're on a date, it's rude," Kai's too cheery voice interrupted her session on Instagram.

"I've told you, it's not a date," Bonnie answered without looking up from the screen.

She didn't know what Kai was up to and she didn't care to find out. If he wanted to be annoying, he should have gone with Kol. Or found some other girl to annoy. Not that she was willing to admit to the stab of hurt she felt at the thought of that.

"Sure it is. I'll admit, it's not really a very expensive date, but in all fairness I haven't had a millennia to build up a fortune."

"Kai," she said giving him an exasperated look.

"Don't tell me that's why you prefer Kol."

"I don't prefer either of you, it's more complicated than that."

"You like me best or Kol, how could it possibly be more complicated? What is it with people and feeling things? And why is everything everyone feels always so complicated or intricate? I don't get it, what's so special about feelings?"

"What's complicated is that the two of you will kill anyone else I try to date and I'm not really sold on the sociopath or the ancient murdering vampire. And just yesterday or this morning, you did have some feelings at least."

"Of course I feel some things. Sheesh, Bon, I'm not made of stone," Kai rolled his eyes in playful exasperation with her. "But my feelings are always clear. I'm angry, hungry, I like someone, I hate someone. I think something is funny. Though I notice, I tend to get that last one wrong a lot. Whoopsie," he let out a playful laugh.

Bonnie looked at him in disgust. "Get out."

"Come on, Bunny don't be a spoilsport. I'll be good, I promise," he pleaded making puppy dog eyes at her.

"Only if you promise not be creepy. Why can't you ever talk about anything pleasant?"

"Pleasant?" Kai wrinkled his brows in amusement. "I'm not sure I know any pleasant topics."

Kai offered up a bag of chips. Bonnie opened it while he opened the chocolate duds. He tossed one in his mouth, chewing exaggeratedly. She snacked on the chips, trying to think of something pleasant that not even Kai could twist and turn into a horror story. Or a sad story about his dad being a jerk.

"What was your favorite movie growing up?" she asked munching on chips.

"The Goonies, Jo and I knew every line," Kai answered with a happy smile. He had so many smiles, one for every occasion it would seem. Usually when Kai was happy it meant he was doing something he shouldn't or it had to do with her, sometimes she saw him laughing with Kol, and she was convinced that was because of something evil. Whereas now, he was smiling just because it fit the moment.

"I loved that movie too. Elena went through this eighties movie craze when we were like twelve, she was obsessed. Me, not so much," she admitted returning the smile.

"And here I was starting to think you might actually have taste, Bonster."

Bonnie grabbed a milk dud. She threw it at him and it hit him in the forehead. She started to laugh, peals and peals of laughter that wouldn't stop. Kai stared at her, perplexed for a moment before he too laughed as hard as she did. When she was finally able to stop laughing, she looked up and saw Kai was leaning toward her. Their eyes met and her breath caught in her throat, she was caught off guard by the warmth and openness she saw there.

"I can catch it you know. Just give a guy some warning, 'kay?"

"I bet you can't," Bonnie replied sticking her tongue out at him.

Kai chortled. "You are on. I bet I can catch it on the first try. And if I'm right, you have to go on a real date with me."

"Okay, and if you lose you have to –" she paused trying to think of something good. "Give me foot massages whenever I want for a week."

"Happy to. And while I'm at it, I'll massage any other part of your body that you want," he answered with heat in his voice.

Bonnie blushed because his words conjured up images of the two of them naked while he rubbed down every inch of her body with warm oil. Hands kneading and touching her skin, fire raging through her even more intense than what she had felt with him this morning in bed. Something of what she was thinking must have shown on her face because Kai's gaze turned smoldering and he winked at her.

"Just my feet, thanks," Bonnie said with a condescending look.

"Anyone ever tell you, you need to loosen up, Bunny? Lighten up, have some fun. You're only sixteen, you should live a little," he told her with a smug smirk.

Just for that, Bonnie threw another milk dud at him and grinned when it landed on his forehead this time too. Kai frowned at her.

"Two years older doesn't mean you know a whole lot more than me."

"Why do you insist on wounding me?"

"Because we hang out with a thousand year old vampire. Eighteen seems like pocket change."

"Ouch," he winced before laughing. "You might have a point, Bunny, but I'm still older and wiser than you."

"By two years and boys are less mature than girls."

Kai laughed. "You're in a mood tonight. What do you want to watch?"

He flopped back on the bed and grabbed the remote control that was lying on the bedside table. He started flicking through the channels without much focus and Bonnie watched him, wondering at how he could go from seducing her, to teasing her to casually channel surfing so easily. His moods were going to give her whiplash.

Kai noticed her watching him and patted the spot on the bed beside him. "Come on, Bunny. I don't bite. I'm not a vampire after all," he laughed.

Bonnie surrendered and sat down next to him, but she made sure to keep more than a foot of distance between them.

"Something funny and I don't know what you consider funny, but like normal funny," she informed him with a cheeky grin.

"Whatever you want."

They settled on an arbitrary sitcom that neither of them really watched. They munched on snacks and drank soda from lukewarm cans. It was weirdly pleasant. It wasn't long before Kai reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist. He pulled her against him and Bonnie being too relaxed to care, willingly snuggled up. Kai's body was warm and well-muscled, it felt nice. And he smelled nice too, fresh and sharp from his cologne and soap. She curled against his side, resting her head against his chest. His fingers caressed her hip and she made sure not to look at him. If she didn't look at him, then it wasn't Kai, not really. It could be any super hot guy that happened to be a really good cuddler. That was another thing, why was Kai a sociopath so snuggly?

"What's your favorite show?" Kai asked tilting his head to the side and resting it on top of hers.

"Um, I don't know actually. It used to be this supernatural show with witches and vampires, but then –" she hesitated not sure how to explain or even if she wanted to tell him.

"The witches and vampires became real?" he suggested in a teasing tone.

"Exactly, I feel like it's like being a cop. You know? You spend all day solving crime or whatever and so when you get home the last thing you want to watch is a crime show."

"Same. My fave is The Big Bang Theory, Penny is just so hot and I'd love to kick Leonard's ass."

"What about Sheldon?"

"Are you kidding me? I love Sheldon," Kai turned to her and grinned.

"Really?" she wrinkled her nose.

"You don't like Sheldon? That's it, we need to watch some Big Bang Theory, stat."

With a pinch he stole a touch of her magic. This time, he didn't take enough for it to hurt. Just a quick pinch and she gasped then it was over. Kai waved his hand and to her amazement the channel changed. In place of the sitcom neither of them had really been paying attention to was the Big Bang Theory.

"You are so teaching me that spell," Bonnie told him. "And next time you need magic, just ask."

Kai grinned and ruffled her hair. She shoved his hand aside. He settled for placing it on her shoulder, thumb caressing her shoulder. She settled her head to rest on his shoulder and let his warmth engulf her. Sometime after seeing how Joshua treated him and warned her not to touch Kai, she had lost her fear of his touch. She wasn't sure why, but she suspected it was because she now blamed Joshua for what his son had become.

After several episodes, she lost track. She found herself completely at ease, laughing and joking with Kai until her eyelids grew heavy. She decided to completely ignore him and crawl back underneath the covers. Kai being Kai wasted no time in following her, wrapping his arms around her.

Seeing as how he had been on his best behavior all day, she didn't mind. Besides, it wasn't like they hadn't slept in the same bed before.

"Not a bad first date, eh, Bunny?" Kai murmured nuzzling his nose in her hair.

"I'm not sure it counted as a date."

"Sure it did. Food, TV-shows, made you laugh. It's a date. Next time, I'll spring for something fancier. You know, if you want."

"Getting a little ahead of yourself there, Kai. We never actually went through with that bet."

"Right, I might need to up my game."

Bonnie yawned. She rolled onto her back and stretched. Kai took advantage of that yawn to rest his head on her chest. She was surprised by the gentleness he showed, he just lay down and closed his eyes. Even in the dark, she could see that he was wearing a content, peaceful smile. Unable to resist because he did look sort of cute, even if he was evil, she ran her hands through his hair, massaging his scalp. He sighed and she grinned, she couldn't help herself he was adorable when he was like this.

She couldn't help wondering if maybe Kai wasn't broken, turned into a sociopath because he hadn't been given enough love as a child. Looking at him now, it certainly seemed that way. He looked almost like he cared, like he was capable of empathy.

Bonnie drifted off to sleep.

When she woke again it was because Kai had rolled off her and she noticed he was watching her. In her sleep, he had been stroking her cheek. When she opened her eyes, he grinned at her and winked.

"Hey, sleeping beauty."

"What are you doing?"

"I can't sleep."

"Oh," she murmured voice still filled with sleep.

She was about to go back to sleep when Kai leaned forward. He pressed his lips to hers, completely catching her by surprise. She gasped and he took advantage of that gasp to slip his tongue inside of her mouth. Heat filled her and her head spun as she kissed him back, not sure why she was letting him kiss her and refusing to look any closer at the emotion he was making her feel.

She tangled her fingers into his hair. Kai pulled himself closer, lying down on top of her, between her legs. He pressed his growing hardness against her core. Her body responded instantly by making her core throb and she mewled moving her hips in time with his.

Kai kissed his way down her throat. She arched her back and neck giving him access. He nipped playfully at her pulse line and she gasped. He chuckled and soothed the ache by licking the spot.

He kept kissing her lower and lower. He used his teeth to pull down her top. She blushed when she realized her breasts were bare to him then she forgot all about her embarrassment. He licked and sucked on them. She grabbed his hair, hanging on as tight as she could. He didn't seem to mind, in fact he must have liked it because he wrapped his arms around her back and middle, pulling her against him.

Bonnie arched her back and rocked her hips. She moaned and she turned away when he smirked. He pulled away just long enough to breathe teasingly on the dampness. She gasped and he chuckled. He pulled up to kiss her. It was a quick hard kiss. He was panting for breath; he touched his forehead to hers.

"I love driving you crazy, Bunny," he panted a wicked smile on his lips.

Bonnie wanted to tell him to shut up. Except she lost her train of thought. Kai put his hand inside of her PJ's. He ran a finger teasingly along her slit and she whimpered, eyes falling shut as waves of pleasure crashed over her. He pushed a finger inside of her and she cried out.

Kai's smug chuckle reached her ears. She ran her nails down his back, and he hissed in pain. She grinned.

Served him right, she thought with grim satisfaction.

Then of course he started moving his hand and she forgot all about one-upping Kai. Instead, she rolled her hips in time with his hand. Noises she didn't recognize as coming from her spilled from her lips.

Kai kept working until color danced behind her eyes. The pace was hard and fast, and more unpolished than she might have expected from Kol, but that was okay. There was something raw and animalistic about his movements that made her breathing come up short. It made her feel less inexperienced and like she might be able to keep up with him.

She felt wound too tight. She shattered, falling apart. She screamed when she climaxed. She came down from her high, her body stilling. The thin sheen of sweat that covered her body, cooled off.

Kai kissed her softly and tenderly on the lips. He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles.

"You wanna…?" he let his voice trail off suggestively and raised a brow teasingly.

"No," she rolled her eyes. The effect was ruined by her breathless and flushed countenance.

She might have crossed a line here tonight, but there was no way she was crossing the sex line. There were too many potential consequences like an STD or a pregnancy, and there was no way she would risk it. Especially not for sex with a sociopath, he couldn't love her. Not really. It wouldn't be her first time and she knew better than to expect eternal love, but after her last failed relationship with the boy she had slept with, she had sworn she would not have sex again unless it was with someone, who loved her.

Bonnie reached into his sweats, she gripped his already hard cock. She rubbed and he moaned. She kept going, feeling how long and broad he was underneath her touch. She trailed a nail along his cock, scratching him lightly. He groaned.

She kept going, pumping his shaft. Kai's eyes closed and sweat beaded on his forehead. He was still leaning above her, and he touched his forehead to hers. His breathing was ragged, his breath danced along her face. A shiver ran down her spine.

His body stiffened and she turned red when she felt his hot sticky seed on her hand. She withdrew, subtly wiping her hand on the inside of his sweats on her way out.

Kai rolled onto his side. He wrapped his arms around her. Bonnie pressed her face into his chest. She was still feeling too hot and dazed. He kissed her temple and sighed in content.

"So how come you don't wanna have sex, Bunny? Are you a virgin?" he asked it teasingly, but she could hear the seriousness underneath the teasing.

Bonnie snorted. "No."

"Cause it's cool if you are, I've done that once or twice, gotta admit it's not what I do best, but I'm game."

"For the last time, I'm not a virgin."

"Prove it."

That actually made her laugh. "Nice try," she giggled.

Kai laughed as well. "Worth a shot."

Bonnie rolled onto her side. Kai pulled the covers over them both and snuggled her. His nose nuzzled against the nape of her neck. She thought about throwing him out, but she figured at this point it would be ridiculous and would only confirm Kai's thoughts that she liked him more than she let on.

Besides, Kai smelled nice and his warmth was nice. She would never tell him that though.

It wasn't long before she was drifting off to sleep.

 **Hey guys! Long time no see! Sorry about the wait, real life has been crazy. Have I mentioned I hate my job as store manager? Because I totally do. Anyway, I hope the bonkai smut improved your day. Let me know what you thought of this chapter as always I love hearing everyone's thoughts. And thank you all for the continued support and patience. The Pact will be back next Thursday evening with chapter 14.**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Sorry about the wait, hope the chapter was worth it.**

 **Guest: I have definitely not abandoned the fic, but real life has been crazy. See the author's note above.**

 **Guest: I'm team Kol too, but I'm a sucker for bonkai.**


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

 **Sorry about the wait, but I worked the late shift last night and just didn't have the energy to proof it one more time before posting.**

Kol was whistling and grinning cheerily when he returned from his hunt. He still had a bottle of scotch in his hand, it had been fun. He had stumbled on to a college party and he fed from a couple of pretty girls co-eds. They tasted better than the other victims he had fed off lately. Recently, because of Bonnie he had been preoccupied and he had not been selecting his victims with any particular care, all he did was choose those that conveniently crossed his path. Tonight had been a refreshing change.

He decided to creep into Bonnie's room. He had tried to offer his room for her to share, but she had ignored him and marched to an empty room at the other end of the house. He wasn't surprised to find that Bonnie wasn't alone. It didn't particularly bother him, he had long suspected Bonnie would be more naturally drawn to Kai. Witches and warlocks, they tended to gravitate toward each other.

What bothered Kol was that he could smell the remnants of sex in the air. It was one of those abilities that vampires had that he felt certain Bonnie would call 'disgusting' or 'gross' and 'ew'. Perhaps even 'yuck'.

At that smell, a murderous rage came over Kol. He could feel his fangs begin to portrude and he would like nothing more than to tear Kai's throat out. However, he had given his word to Kai they would not come to blows over Bonnie. And in spite of his natural inclination, he was a man of his word.

Kol brushed it aside as difficult as it was to ignore that the warlock had gotten further with Bonnie than he had. He tried to remind himself, it was natural. Witches and warlocks were naturally drawn to each other, Bonnie's fate was intertwined with Kai. According to his seer friend, she could not see a future for either Bonnie where she did not cross paths with Kai. In some, they were enemies, but in the ones where they both lived, they were more than friends. He had known this would happen, what he had not expected was to be as enamored with the little witch as he was.

He took his off shirt and pants and climbed into bed on the other side of Bonnie. The witch did not stir she was out cold. Kai on the other hand, perhaps sensing the presence of another predator did wake up.

"Have fun?" Kai quirked an eyebrow, an evil smile on his lips. "Because we sure did."

"So I realize," he growled.

Kai chuckled.

Again, his first instinct was to snap his neck, but that would alienate Bonnie. Irritated, Kol grabbed Bonnie's waist and pulled her away from Kai and into his arms. She mumbled Kol's name and pressed her face against his chest. Even asleep she could tell them apart, she must be psychic, at least to an extent. He smirked at Kai and settled in to go to sleep.

Kai continued to smirk. Kol could sense his smugness and he could not ignore that. As much as he'd like to because it might wake Bonnie. Something he did not want because she was snuggled closely to his chest, and breathing softly.

"Try anything like that again and I'll break every single bone in your body before I tear out your tongue and cut off your fingers," Kol promised with a sinister smile.

"Oh?" Kai raised his brows.

"Yes, go behind my back with the little witch again and it'll be the last thing you do," Kol replied his smirk changing to be more amicable.

If Bonnie knew what Sheila and the Geminis had in store for her, she might actually be grateful. But once again, he was bound by his word not to reveal their secrets. If only he could have predicted how he would grow to care for the witch, he never would have done anything of the sort.

Kai chuckled.

"That's how it's going to be, huh? What happened to letting her run to whichever psycho she wants?"

Kol thought about it. That was the arrangement, what Kol had not expected however, was that Bonnie might not be able to make up her mind or the jealousy he would feel if she played around with Kai.

"I see your point," Kol replied answered with a sudden burst of inspiration. "A deal is a deal."

Kol shifted. He turned Bonnie onto her back. She murmured and a sigh escaped her lips. Hair covered her face, hanging in her eyes. Heavy eyelashes hung over her eyes and her lips were full. Even asleep she was beautiful.

Gently, he brushed her hair away from her face. She sighed.

Kol pressed his lips to hers. Bonnie moaned and gasped in surprise as she woke. Kol grinned, she was waking up. He kept kissing her, taking advantage of the parting of her lips. He could tell she was becoming more awake because she kissed him back with more fervor. She tangled her hands into his hair.

Next to them, Kai growled. Kol knew he was about to strike, and using his vampire speed and strength he shoved him off the bed. Kai landed with a thud and Kol kept kissing Bonnie.

The sound startled her and she pushed him away.

"What are you doing?" she mumbled.

Bonnie's eyes were wide, green and bright. Her cheeks were flushed and her mouth was open as she stared at him.

Kai hopped to his feet and the expression he wore was furious.

"I should kill you."

"Can't be done," Kol retorted.

"You are both morons," Bonnie mumbled. "I am going back to sleep. If you try to kill each other, do it quietly."

She rolled over and pulled the blanket more firmly over her.

"You wound me, little witch."

"Ouch, hurtful. It's like you don't care, Bunny."

"I don't," she muttered. "And I really don't care that the two of you are fighting about me."

"It's only a little kiss, nothing like what the two of you were doing behind my back," Kol growled.

Bonnie shot back up. "How did you know?" her expression was horrified.

"He's a vampire, Bunny. He can smell it."

Bonnie grimaced in disgust.

XXX

Bonnie scrunched up her face. She wasn't sure what was more disgusting the sick smile on Kai's face as he announced it or that Kol's sense of smell was so good, he could literally smell the aftermath of what they had done.

Sometimes Bonnie really hated vampires.

"I'm a little surprised, I would have expected you to at least attempt to lie," Kol answered peering at her curiously.

"Kol!" Bonnie exclaimed. "That is so not the point, right now! Both of you, get out!"

"Or we could call a truce for tonight, I guess," Kai answered with a half-hearted shrug and a grimace.

Bonnie took that to mean it was not his first choice. Kai's first choice was probably killing Kol. A thought, which sent a shiver down her spine. And she had no doubt Kol was itching to kill Kai as well.

So why didn't he?

"I suppose," Kol sighed as if it was some great sacrifice.

Bonnie shook her head. "Does any want my opinion?"

"Not particular."

"Mebbe."

"Oh my God," Bonnie groaned. "I wouldn't touch either of you with a ten foot pool, but you're both psychos, who kill any other boy I try to date."

"Are you complaining?" Kai asked peering at her, head cocked to the side.

"YES! I would like you to stop that!"

"And say we were to cease this deplorable behavior, would you allow one of these other boys to court you?" Kol questioned, hazel eyes going black and stony.

"Probably," Bonnie admitted.

"Guess you have your answer, Bunny."

"You make me sick;" Bonnie stated rolling her eyes. "I'm going back to sleep and I don't care if either of you stay or go."

She pulled the blanket back over herself and snuggled against her pillow. She felt the mattress sink on either side of her. She closed her eyes tighter, trying to ignore the way the air tingled at their proximity. She could feel their power and their warmth in the air surrounding her. It was a heady mix.

Kai laced his fingers through hers and she put her head on his shoulder. Kol on the other side of her, put his head on her chest and wrapped his arms around her body.

Bonnie sighed partly in content and partly in exasperation with the whole situation. There was something dangerously good about the two of them wanting her. They were powerful and handsome, and she was well aware they could have anyone they wanted. And they both wanted her.

It was almost too much after years of being overshadowed by Elena and Caroline. It was almost too much to believe.

Then again, with her usual luck, it would only ever be Kai and Kol that noticed her. A part of her was sure things would go back to normal soon and she would return to being a wallflower. It was a painful thought, but she knew it would be for the best. This was too complicated and just too much for her.

Wallflower, that was what she was and it was where she belonged.

These thoughts weighing heavy on her and the warmth from the boys, she fell into a restless sleep.

XXX

Bonnie woke the next morning because sunlight was pouring into the room. Kai was gone and she could hear the sounds of him roaming around the house playing music and singing. It was probably a childish attempt to wake her and Kol.

Didn't Kai ever sleep? She decided it had to be his Gemini paranoia that kept him awake and alert at all hours.

It turned out Kol was still asleep. He was no longer laying across her chest. Instead, he must have pulled her onto his chest at some point because she was sprawled out on top of him. Her face was pressed into the crook of his neck and she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. A revelation that made her blush.

He must have sensed she was awake because his hand went to her hair, stroking it. It was a gentle caress that made her breath hitch at the unexpectedness.

"How did you sleep, little witch? It sounded as if you were having nightmares."

"I was?" Bonnie sat up and blinked at him. "I don't remember. Weird, Jo said the same thing to me the other day."

"Some people don't remember their dreams."

"Hey, where did you go last night?" she said watching him thoughtfully.

Kol had said what they had done was behind his back. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it, but now she realized he must have been out. Kai must have known that. It made sense, otherwise why would she be allowed that much uninterrupted time with Kai? Nothing else tracked.

"To feed and compel the memories from my victims."

Bonnie groaned. "Victims as in plural?"

"Yes," he watched her with a dark expression.

She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She didn't like that a whole lot more than she liked him killing, but at least it was an improvement from him and Kai massacring a bar filled with people. She wondered if there was something she could do about it, but she didn't think Kol could be convinced to live on bloodbags alone and she already knew he would never agree to drink animal blood. A crazy half-baked plan was starting to form.

Before it could take proper root, she heard the sounds of shouts from the kitchen. In the blink of an eye Kol was gone. Bonnie hurried after him.

When she arrived in the kitchen, Kai and Kol were in the middle of a heated discussion with her Grams and Elijah.

Wonderful.

"What were you thinking, Kol?" Elijah questioned in clipped tones. "Bringing the Bennett girl here? She could die. You know as well as I how tricky fate can be."

"You gave me your word, vampire," Sheila said in a coldly angry way. Somehow, she managed to make the word vampire sound worse than any curse word Bonnie had ever heard.

"If you would allow me to explain –" Kol was effectively cut off by Sheila.

The old woman's eyes narrowed on Bonnie, who was hovering the doorway. Kai followed her gaze and flashed a smile at Bonnie.

"Took you long enough, Bonster."

"Bonnie Sheila Bennett have you completely lost all of your faculties?" Sheila raged stalking toward her.

Bonnie, who wasn't convinced this prophecy business was all that real to begin with was suddenly overcome by fury herself.

"What did you expect? You sent me away to live with strangers!"

"I did what was best for you."

"And who are you to decide that? Elena needs my help, Katherine has done something to her and –"

"AND I DO NOT GIVE A RAT'S ASS WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT SILLY GIRL SO LONG AS YOU ARE ALIVE!" Sheila thundered.

Kai raised his eyebrows in shock at Bonnie from where he was standing behind Sheila. Kol blinked and eyed Sheila with renewed interest. Even Elijah's composure was ruffled she could tell by the way he gaped at Sheila. Bonnie snorted. They probably had no idea just how unpleasant Sheila could be when crossed.

Bonnie was the only one that wasn't surprised.

"You might not care, but I do," Bonnie said making sure to keep her voice even and resist the temptation to shout back. "I can't just sit back and do nothing when her life could be in danger. And you shouldn't want me to. You raised me to be brave and protect the people I care about."

Sheila sighed. "Bonnie child, you are the most important person in the world to me and if you die, I-" she choked up and shook her head. "I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."

"I won't die. I promise I don't have a death wish, I want to help my friend."

"Did you say Katherine had done something to her?" Elijah added peering more closely at Bonnie.

"Yeah, I think she must have taken her while in Portland," Bonnie answered.

"Or she was there the whole time, I remember thinking Elena made an expression just like Katherine at the bonfire last night," Kol said his dark eyes focused on Bonnie.

There was an intensity there that was hard to ignore, but she did her best to shake it off.

"No," Bonnie turned to look at Kai, who was now leaning against the kitchen island eating an apple. "That doesn't track unless you invited her in last night before I came downstairs?"

"I did and then I went upstairs. I am not their babysitters."

"Makes sense," Kol agreed.

"But here's a better question, how did she keep all of us witches and warlocks from sensing she was a vampire?" Kai asked.

Now that stumped Bonnie. The first time she had touched Stefan, she could tell something was wrong. If Elena was actually Katherine surrounded by witches and warlocks, at least _one_ of them should have known something was very wrong.

"Knowing Katerina," Elijah began straightening his cuffs. "It is probable she has a witch in her corner."

"Lucy?" Sheila suggested exchanging a look with Elijah.

"Your cousin?" Kai asked.

"You know my cousin?" Bonnie goggled at him. "And I have a cousin?"

"She helped the Geminis out with a problem last year."

Sheila cast a steely look full of questions back at Kai. "Katherine does have a history with our family," she said at last.

"And why would Katherine Pierce want to harm Elena? Is it because of Stefan or Damon?" Bonnie said because she was confused.

Katherine had never shown her face in Mystic Falls before and if she did, it did not make sense to Bonnie that she would target Elena. And if she was going to do it, why come to Portland where she would be surrounded by witches and Original vampires? It didn't make sense and it hurt her head to think about it.

God, she was a crappy friend. How could she not notice her friend wasn't actually her friend? She pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to alleviate the headache that was starting to form there.

Kol glanced at Elijah.

"Bonnie hon, do you know what Niklaus needs to break his curse?" Sheila posed the question softly.

"No, because no one has bothered to tell me much of anything," Bonnie replied even if she knew it was petulant.

"Because," a voice purred in the doorway. All of them turned around to find Katherine leaning dramatically against the doorframe with a wicked smile gracing her lips. "Klaus needs a doppelganger to break his curse and I decided to give him one that isn't me."

"Katerina," Elijah breathed.

In a flash, Kol stood in front of Sheila. His posture was lazy, but there was something threatening about the move all the same.

"Hello 'Lijah," Katherine said in a breathy voice. "I've missed you."

She turned her lips down into a pout and Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"You aren't giving Elena to Klaus. Now let her go or I will kill you," Bonnie said and her voice was a low growl that shocked even her.

XXX

Kai heard Bonnie's threat, but he had to do a double-take to make sure she was actually the one threatening the vampire. He'd never seen her this angry before. Her green eyes blazed like emeralds and everything from her tone of voice to the way she stood radiated fury. Even in her blue PJ's with her hair still bushy from sleep she looked like she meant business. In response, parts of him stirred as he stared at her.

She was fucking amazing.

And he ached to claim her.

But the look Sheila gave him, reminded him this was not the time. Not for the first time, he wished he had magic so he could simply teleport them both out of here and fuck her brains out.

"Relax," Katherine rolled her eyes. "I have a better proposition."

In an expensive pair of black pumps Katherine stepped into the house. She tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Perhaps we should all sit down," Elijah said his voice only betrayed a little exasperation.

Kai was willing to bet he was more than a little exasperated. From where he was standing the Original vampires' problems kept piling up. Kai was irritated because this was now his problem all because of Bonnie. His pursuit of her would be a lot easier if she didn't insist on things like 'caring about her friends' and 'doing the right thing'. And if there were no Original vampires hanging around. Of course, if it wasn't for the Mikaelsons, Bonnie wouldn't live with them so they were good for something at least.

"I could really use a scotch if we are going to discuss Nik this early in the day," Kol said with a dark expression.

"Make mine a double," Katherine purred and winked at Kol.

Kai raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't know what Elena was like, but this doppelganger seemed like fun.

They went into the living room and Bonnie sat down on the couch. While Sheila and Elijah made tea. Kai followed Bonnie and sat down with his arm around her. She glared at him and shoved his arm. It only made him smile and squeeze her tighter.

"My Grams is in the other room," she hissed at him under her breath. "Knock it off."

Kol poured himself and Katherine a glass of scotch. Before passing a third glass to Kai and offering one to Bonnie, who shook her head. Now her disgusted look was aimed Kol.

At least, Kai thought it was disgust. Sometimes, he got his emotions mixed up, but he knew she wasn't pleased.

Rebekah sauntered into the room. Elegantly, she sprawled into an arm chair. With a regal tilt of her head, she held her hand out and Kol flashed forward at vampire speed. He passed her a glass filled with scotch with an expression that Kai was tempted to call affectionate.

When did she get here? She must have been nearby all along. He hated vampires ability to sneak around nearly undetected.

Curious, Kai glanced at Bonnie and noticed she too was studying the siblings. That he did not like. If Bonnie noticed how the siblings shared affection between them, she would probably like them. She seemed to go for all that mushy crap.

The one thing, Kai never would understand was caring about siblings. How did Kol do that? Didn't he find them loud and overbearing? Constantly, cloying for his time and attention when all they did was take what should have been his rightfully? The only one he tolerated was Jo and even her, he didn't care about not really.

Yet looking at Kol and Rebekah, Kai could have sworn Kol actually gave a damn about his sister. Especially, when he sat down on the arm of her chair.

"You know, is it really wise to live somewhere vampires can just waltz in whenever they please?" Katherine asked slanting a sly look at Kol and Rebekah.

"Killing them usually works wonders for us," Rebekah said with a simpering smile.

Katherine laughed. "Yes, that should be your family moto. We kill anyone that even mildly vexes us."

Kai chortled, which made Bonnie elbow him in the ribs. Not hard enough it bothered him. He flashed her a smile and ruffled her hair.

"Enough, Katerina," Elijah said.

Elijah came into the room with Sheila. They poured themselves a cup of tea. Kol sat down next to Bonnie. Sheila sat down across from them. Kai noticed that she eyed his drink with disapproval. Kai briefly wondered if she would tell his father, but then Sheila seemed more like the direct type. A fact that was proven when she snatched the drink from him and replaced it easily with a cup of tea.

"I don't allow minors in my charge to drink alcohol," Sheila told him with pursed lips.

Bonnie snorted and he could have sworn it was a laugh.

"I'm not in your charge."

"You're a Gemini in Bennett territory, you're in my charge. Otherwise, I fear Joshua will be as reckless in his care of my granddaughter," her smile was tense.

Now Kai was the one chuckling. "You're not worried about Bonster in our territory are you?"

"Of course not. The Geminis are…capable."

Now that sounded like thinly veiled disapproval. Kai was used to it. Joshua gathered that reaction from most sane adults. At least, that was how Jo phrased it. Kai wasn't sure he knew what qualified as sane anymore. Not that such trivialities as sanity mattered to sociopaths.

"So are we done talking about me like I'm not here?" Bonnie grumbled crossing her arms. "Because I would really like to find Elena."

"What for?" Rebekah questioned in bored tones.

"Bekah, please the dull as dishwater doppelganger is Bonnie's friend," Kol chided with a mischievous look at his sister that was returned warmly.

"Kol please," Elijah said straightening his tie in what Kai was beginning to recognize as his version of fidgeting. "We have an alliance with the Bennetts."

"Yes," Kol ruffled Bonnie's hair.

"Hey!" she said swatting her hand at him.

"Which makes Elena our burden, ops, I meant responsibility," Kol replied.

Bonnie hit him with a light zap of magic. Kai felt the charge through the air and he had to grit his teeth to keep from grabbing her and siphoning her magic. He couldn't help himself, Bonnie's magic was potent. It made his blood sing and his bones thrum with its essence. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

"Anyway," Katherine said throwing an amused glance at Kol. "If you want the doppelganger back unharmed, I want in on your plan to kill Klaus."

Sheila was barely listening, Kai could tell. Her eyes were fixed on Bonnie and where she sat between him and Kol. She pursed her lips and Kai could tell she did not like what she saw. Kai wondered if she had pieced together more than he would like her to.

"And how do you know about our plan, Katerina?" Elijah asked.

She flipped her hair and smiled at him prettily. "I'm so glad you asked, 'Lijah. I overheard some interesting things when I posed as Elena. Bonnie and Jo they talk."

XXX

Bonnie stared at Katherine dumbfounded.

When had she talked to Jo?

Crap, they had talked about it in the kitchen when Jo had asked her why Bonnie was allowed into Gemini territory without joining the coven. It was after the bonfire and when Elena or Katherine should have been asleep.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. How could she forget that Katherine had been present for that?

"I traded places with Elena at the bonfire and I must say twelve hours with teenage girls? My, did I ever get all of the best gossip."

Bonnie glared at Katherine, who was posing as if she was innocent.

"Can you get on with it?" Bonnie snapped. She could feel her patience beginning to wear thin and she had half a mind to fry Katherine, but then they might never find Elena. "You want in on our plan to kill Klaus, but how do we know we can trust you?"

"Because I have wanted him dead for oh, I don't know," Katherine tilted her head to the side playfully. "Five centuries."

Kai let out on an impressed whistle that made Bonnie fix him with her scowl.

"He did try to sacrifice her to unlock is werewolf side."

"Excuse me?" Bonnie said at the same time as Kai said; "Your freak brother is a vampire and a werewolf?"

"Oh, you thought we couldn't handle a normal Original?" Rebekah scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Niklaus has always been the strongest of us, I fear what he might be capable of when he becomes both Original vampire and a werewolf," Elijah added. "Even I don't know his plans."

"Mayhem," Rebekah and Kol said in unison.

Bonnie raised eyebrows at that. "Fine, say we do trust you. How can you help?"

"Oh, Bon-Bon," Katherine said as if disappointed. "I bet 'Lijah knows how I can help."

"By being a gigantic slag as usual?" Rebekah said with a saccharine smile.

"Bekah, not now. There is no time for your childish bickering. The same goes for you, Katerina," Elijah added the last part when Katherine tossed a smug smile at Rebekah, which made her frown.

"Because everyone knows Klaus is a paranoid psycho," Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Who has cut all ties with his family," Elijah explained to Bonnie and Kai.

Sheila nodded next to him.

"And everyone knows I want him to stop hunting me."

"He's hunting you?" Sheila gave Katherine a sharp look.

"Yes, well as I'm sure you know he needs a doppelganger to break the curse that keeps his werewolf side dormant."

"He tried to use Katerina when she was human however, she outwitted everyone one of us. Turned herself into a vampire, which made her useless to Niklaus," Elijah said finishing Katherine's explanation. "Ever since then she has been on the run."

Bonnie knew Stefan and Damon probably knew a lot of this, but she doubted Elena knew any of it. Or at least nothing more than that Katherine was a past love of theirs.

"Great, so we hand her over to Klaus?" Bonnie suggested.

"Now, there's a suggestion I can get behind, Bunny."

"It does have potential, but I doubt that was what Katherine had in mind," Kol said.

"Of course not, I'm a survivor," Katherine said sweetly. "Elijah reaches out to Klaus and tells him that I want to trade Elena for my freedom."

"You think that will work?" Kai asked and there was doubt in his voice. "If Klaus is as evil as you all say then who's to say he won't just double-cross you and kidnap Elena, after he kidnaps you?"

"Assuming he is even willing to talk to Elijah?"

Bonnie was filled with misgivings.

"My brother has wanted revenge on Katerina for centuries now, he will agree to meet for this."

"And he probably will double-cross us, but what do we care if he kills Katerina?" Rebekah said as she studied her nails.

"That could compromise everything," Sheila said. "I am close to completing the dagger, I only need one last ingredient, which I am told Finn is searching for. If we strike this deal, we need to be certain we can take him down."

"We wait and draw him out," Kol said after a moment's contemplation. "We lay in wait, cloaked by the witches and attack in full force."

"We might need the Geminis on this as well. We need to make certain Niklaus is down."

"True," Kol said pensively. "In the vision, Bonnie nearly dies trying to take Nik out before failing miserably."

"That vision is rather…useful, if alarming," Sheila murmured before raising her voice. "I doubt I would fare much better on my own. I'll speak with Joshua when I return these two delinquents to Portland."

Underneath the steely-eyed stare of her Grams, Bonnie shrunk.

"In the meantime, I'll hold on to Elena as an assurance you lot won't double-cross me and throw me at Klaus's mercy."

"Or lack thereof," Kol added.

"No way," Bonnie said shaking her head.

She saw Kol was watching her with lazy curiosity and Kai had basically fallen asleep. He snored and then fake woke with a start.

"Oh my God, this is so boring, I fell asleep," Kai said. "Who cares about the doppelganger? It's not like the other doppelganger is going to kill her. She needs her."

"Unacceptable, Katerina," Elijah said. "You will return Elena home."

"And if any of Klaus's spies see her waltzing around Mystic Falls like nothing is wrong? You don't think he will actually just walking into town because Elijah said to trust us?" Katherine's expression conveyed her disgust.

"She makes a point," Sheila admitted looking as it if physically pained her.

"Grams!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Elena is my friend."

"So we've heard, little witch," Kol drawled. "I'm certain there is a compromise here that will make everyone happy."

"I don't know, Bonnie. There is a lot on the line here," Sheila said.

"Why are you so willing to risk her life?" Bonnie demanded.

Frustration from the past several weeks filled her. As if her life wasn't complicated enough, Sheila was willing to put Elena at risk. For what? Some slim shot at an Original vampire? One they didn't even want to be targeting?

And she was willing to bring creepy old Joshua into this?

All of it was enough to finally make her snap at Sheila, who had been acting crazy ever since the Originals and their stupid prophecy blew into their lives.

"Because all I care about is your safety!" Sheila hissed back in an angry voice. "Why do you do these things? Why are you so willing to risk your life for your friends? And how the hell could you leave the safety of Portland? And you two!" Sheila pointed at Kol and Kai in turn. "How could you let this happen? If you think I am angry Kai, wait until your father hears about this!"

Kai paled visibly before schooling his expression back into a smirk. Bonnie found that interesting.

"But Elena's life matters too! And I hate living in Portland, I miss my friends!"

"Your friends?" Sheila said getting to her feet in a furious rage. "Are the reason you need to stay out of Mystic Falls! And we will discuss this later!"

"Fine," Bonnie crossed her arms. "Elijah, what's your compromise?"

Sheila sat back down, but her eyes were stormy. Bonnie knew this argument was far from over.

"Elena stays in my home as does Katherine. We will set up a neutral meeting point with Klaus. He will be expecting something in Mystic Falls. Somewhere less familiar to him or even his homebase will put him at ease, we can use that to our advantage. You two," he indicated Kai and Bonnie. "Return to Portland tonight. Sheila will escort you."

"I'm returning to Portland as well, brother," Kol said flashing a secretive smile at Bonnie.

"I presumed you would be," Elijah said with an exasperated sigh.

"He'd go wherever she is," Rebekah stated with an eye roll.

Sheila's furious expression darkened even further.

"I trust everything is settled then?" Elijah asked the group as a whole.

There was a chorus of agreement, in Bonnie's case it was extremely mumbled.

XXX

An hour later and they were set to go back to Portland. Bonnie had her bag slung over her shoulder and was about to make a break for it through the window. Her room was on the first floor, climbing through it would be easy to do. After all, if she could make it out of her second story window at her dad's house, she could make it out of here.

Bonnie opened the window. She even had one leg out when someone barged in. A look over her shoulder told her it was Kai. He broke into a bright smile.

"Watcha up to, Bonster?"

Bonnie fixed him with a glare. "Very funny."

"Come on, get back inside before your Grams goes batshit."

"No, I am not going back to Portland. My life is in Mystic Falls."

He chuckled. "Don't take this the wrong way because I know you're capable, but where are you going to go? Might as well stick it out until you turn eighteen."

Bonnie raised her chin stubbornly and climbed out the window. When she landed on the ground she almost tipped over from the weight of her bag, but kept going. Kai followed her out of the window almost soundlessly.

"Bon, come on you can't outrun me. But it's cute to watch you try."

Bonnie turned around and glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I want you to stay in Portland," Kai tucked his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes.

If Bonnie hadn't know better, she might have said he looked embarrassed. But this was Kai. He was never embarrassed or ashamed. She had seen him fake the emotion, but had she ever seen him express anything other than excitement or anger? Come to think of it, the closest she had ever seen Kai come to genuine human emotion was hunger.

So she was not buying his little act.

"Why? And don't you dare bullshit me because I am so fed up with everything."

"I know, I know, you're about to be a dramatic teen runaway and all that jazz," Kai said with an amused smile. Then his happy expression slipped and Bonnie felt like she had kicked a puppy. "Because I think everything in Portland sucks too."

"You do?"

The question escaped her before she could help herself. It had never occurred to her before, but it should have. Kai's dad was an asshole. A first class one and he was seen as the black sheep of his family as well as coven.

How stupid and selfish of her not to notice. Of course, Kai hated his life there as much if not more than her.

"Really? You haven't noticed how totally psycho my father is?"

"I have," she sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have known."

"It's whatever. Look, my point is, Portland sucks and I have to stick it out, at least for a few more years and I get it, you want to bail. But the thing is, you're the only thing that doesn't suck about my shitty life."

Kai looked at her then and Bonnie saw a flicker of what might actually be real emotion in his eyes. It made her feel crappy and she kind of liked Kai, she didn't want to be the reason he was hurt.

"Let's both go."

"Can't do that, Bunny. My coven is all kinds of fucked up and the only chance I've got is to make it to the merge."

Kai looked away then.

Why did she get the feeling he wasn't telling her something?

"Only chance?"

"You're not in the coven. I can't tell you."

"Right, the Geminis and their weird secrecy thing."

"Come back at least for a little while longer. Please."

Bonnie hesitated. She had one foot behind her, ready to bail. The idea of returning to Portland made her a little queasy. She had made some friends there and Kai might actually be one of them, but there was something wrong in that house. It gave her a bad feeling. And her life in Mystic Falls was complicated, there was no doubt about it, but she belonged there. It was the only home she had ever known.

And now Kai was looking at her so expectantly that she didn't want to let him down, but now she didn't want to go back to Portland either.

"What's it going to be, Bonster are you staying or bailing?"

Bonnie stared back at him chewing on her bottom lip.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has stuck with this fic. We are finally getting to the chapters that haven't been published before. So what do we think of jealous Kol? Not psycho enough? Because there is definitely going to be more jealousy before this fic is over! I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr for those who have a drabble request and who want to stay in the loop about updates.**

 **Izzy**


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

"What's it going to be, Bonster are you staying or bailing?"

"I'll stay. For now."

"Really?" Kai's face lit up into a bright smile.

"Really," she blushed and looked down at her shoes. "But like I said, for now."

"Thanks. Let's get back inside before your Grams notices you're missing. I'm thinking she might go even more postal than she's bound to go from our little field trip."

Bonnie nodded.

Kai was helping her through the window when Sheila walked in. The older woman took one look at Kai standing in the bedroom and Bonnie coming back before her face turned a furious shade of scarlet.

"That is enough! Both of you in the car now!"

"We actually drove down with Kol," Bonnie said climbing over the ledge.

"Excellent point, Bonnie. You ride with me and Kai can go with Kol. That way we can have a nice long talk all the way to Portland."

Bonnie repressed a groan. She was in for it now.

Why had she listened to Kai? She could have been halfway to gone by now.

XXX

The first half of the car ride with her Grams was uncomfortably quiet. Sheila stared straight ahead and she was clutching the steering wheel hard enough her knuckles turned white. Her lips were set into a thin line.

When Bonnie reached over to turn the radio on, Sheila shot her a look that stopped her hand in its tracks.

"Child, I don't know where to begin with you," Sheila said in a quiet voice. "It's bad enough you're sneaking into Mystic Falls when you know it can cost you, your life. Prophecies are tricky. Don't you know they always come to pass one way or another?"

A sinking feeling overcame Bonnie.

"What do you mean one way or another?"

"What I mean is very simple. One way or another they are always fulfilled. If the prophecies' your death in that town, then one way or another your death will take place in that town."

"Oh."

Bonnie felt stunned. She had thought she was being clever, she thought if she could sneak in and help her friends it was a loophole because how could she die? She was sixteen. Part of her hadn't even believed the stupid prophecy, but seeing the expression on Sheila's face now, she believed her.

It was first now dawning on her that she might never be able to return to Mystic Falls. Not without risking her life.

"I'm sorry, but maybe now you will listen to me when I tell you to stay away."

Bonnie bristled at Sheila's all knowing tone of voice. Just once, she would like her Grams to be wrong. But the sad truth was, she couldn't go back to Mystic Falls and making trips there was reckless. She was putting herself in danger, but the idea of Elena in danger was too much to bear. She didn't have siblings or even a mom, most of the time the only people she had were her friends and her Grams. She would do anything, give anything to keep them safe.

"It's my home. I have people, who need me."

"Bonnie child," Sheila sighed. "I need you alive and happy. I wish I could change it, but I can't."

"I guess not. I just want to go home, Grams."

"I know, honey. Sometimes life is like that. But there is something else, what is going on with you and those boys?"

"What boys?" Bonnie said even as she could feel herself begin to sweat with nervousness.

Sheila shot her a sharp look out of the corner of her eye. "Kai and Kol. You had best stay away from both of them for now."

"Grams," Bonnie stuttered. She could feel her cheeks heating up. "Nothing is going on."

"Don't you lie to me! I have eyes."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Stay away from them, Bonnie. Kol especially. He's an Original vampire. There's no telling what he's capable of."

"I know what he's capable of," Bonnie muttered underneath her breath.

"You had better not. You keep away from him. I'm not joking. We have an arrangement with him and you can go to him if something happens with the Geminis, but he is not your boyfriend."

"I know he's not."

"Then what were those looks I saw between the two of you earlier?"

"What looks?"

"The ones that were all too similar to the ones you and Kai were passing each other. I might be old, but I'm not stupid or blind. And don't think I don't know what kind of bizarre things vampires are into."

Bonnie swallowed and felt her cheeks go scarlet. This was not something she wanted to talk to anyone about let alone her Grams. And how the hell had her Grams managed to pinpoint what was going on? How did she know Kai and Kol had told her to choose her psycho?

Duh, because you're like obviously in the middle of those two hotties, a voice at the back of her mind whispered. It sounded an awful lot like Caroline.

"Grams, please. Nothing is going on. We're just friends and they're like BFF's. I guess we've kind of just bonded."  
"Two attractive young men and a pretty girl have bonded? How stupid do you think I am? I know something romantic has occurred with you and at least one of them."

Bonnie felt her temper flare to life. It was true, everything her Grams was accusing her of was true and that just made it all the worse.

"How about you don't talk to me about this? You dumped me in Portland and oh yeah, I know it's for my own safety, but you and dad abandoned me. I expect it from him, but from you? Really you too?" Bonnie's voice was shrill and she hardly recognized it as coming from her.

Sheila sighed. "You don't want to talk. We don't have to, but I promise one day you will understand."

XXX

It was a few hours later when they pulled in to a gas station, Kol sat down on the hood of his car. The attendant refilled his car, yammering on excitedly about the Ferrari. Kai went inside to use the restroom and get some snacks. Kol was under the impression that humans, who ate a lot got fat, but that did not seem to be the case in Kai's case.

Peculiar.

Back when Kol had been human, there wasn't enough food to throw around for people to grow fat and soft. Most rarely made it past fifty, but times had changed. They were still changing and he tried not to let it bother him.

Bonnie and her Grams pulled up at the gas pump next to them. Bonnie got out of the car and without a word stomped over to his car and got in the backseat. He raised an eyebrow at Sheila as she got out the car.

"What happened?" Kol asked her and inclined his head toward Bonnie.

"Stay away from my granddaughter, Kol. I have met enough vampires to know it never ends well."

"Perhaps," Kol shrugged.

It was all he was willing to admit to. Although if he were being honest with himself, he knew all too well how things ordinarily ended between vampires and humans. More than once, he had dallied with a witch, but with Bonnie it felt different. Of course, it always ended the same, he left before he took up too much of their life. He had done that once and he would never do it again, watching her grow old before his eyes had been painful. Made worse when Nik daggered him and his once beautiful witch died alone. No children and no husband at her side. Waking up a century later and realizing he had abandoned her…the pain had been excruciating.

No, he would not do that again.

When Kai returned carrying more junk food than Kol had thought a human could carry, he got back in the car. Kai tossed a drink and a bag of chips at Sheila before climbing back into the car.

Kol followed and he caught the tail end of Kai and Bonnie's conversation.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Bonster, I told you not to climb out the window."

"Running away from home, little witch?" Kol asked as he turned the key in the ignition.

"Shut up," Bonnie crossed her arms and glared at him from the backseat.

The heat in the car began to rise. Kol hit the AC, but it didn't help. The heat kept rising. To the point where even he could tell. He looked over at Kai and saw his face was red. Kai was turned back and looking at Bonnie.

"Hey, Bunny whatcha doing with your magic?"

Bonnie didn't answer, she just kept glaring at them.

"That's what I'd like to know," Kol said looking at her in the mirror.

"Bunny," Kai repeated when she didn't answer.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed at last. "I can't stop!"

"Oh," Kai said.

"Common problem with new witches. Try a few deep breaths," Kol suggested.

Bonnie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. The heat in the car lowered enough Kol barely noticed it, but one look at Kai and he could tell he was still too warm.

"Now, Bunny just picture yourself pulling all of that heat back into yourself."

Kol glanced over at Kai. He knew he liked to read grimoires and that he would one day be coven leader, but he had never considered that he was a competent warlock. Kol had noticed he had trouble controlling siphoning and as a result he had thought he did not have a lot of control over his magic in general. To his surprise he was wrong, he rarely was about people.

How odd.

One glance over his shoulder told him, Bonnie was working hard. Her forehead was scrunched up in an adorable way and she was chewing on her bottom lip. She was beautiful, he thought overcome by how strongly he felt about her.

He could tell the instant the spell started to fade. The air in the car felt cooler and Bonnie opened her eyes. She smiled a shaky smile.

XXX

Cassie paced the backyard of the Parker home. The rest of her coven was there, but she seemed to be the only one that was on edge. Jo was balancing a twin on each knee. She had sent the other kids away for the day. Jo had explained about Bonnie's trip to Mystic Falls and the prophecy.

Which had Cassie worried about her new friend. Bonnie could be dead right now. Cassie also half-hoped Kai was. Bonnie was her friend and she wanted her to be alright, wasn't even mad about the Kai thing because she knew Bonnie didn't steal him. Kai wanted Bonnie and Cassie would have to be blind not to see that he was pursuing the other witch.

And Cassie was working really hard not to be blind or naïve anymore.

"Remind me, why we care about the Bunny witch?" Faye drawled.

Faye's honey eyes were on her perfect red manicure and the fireball she was working around her hand.

"Because she's our friend," Diana said exchanging a look with Adam.

Now, that one cut deep. Cassie understood, if she was Adam she would love Diana too. But sometimes, she would think about how Adam had chosen Diana before they left New England and it stung.

"She's not my friend," Faye said.

The other girls nodded.

"She's mine," Cassie said. "But what can we do to help?"

"I was thinking maybe we could cast a protection spell?" Jo said rocking the twins and shushing them. "Because I spoke to Sheila and they are coming back to Portland, but I think Sheila is going to tell my dad."

"Your dad?" Cassie stared at her in shock. "If he finds out, I don't think he will react well."

"I second that," Adam said stepping up. "No offence, Jo."

"None taken."

"You think?" Faye snorted. "Am I the only one, who has noticed our leader is a psycho? And I mean offence, Jo."

"Again, none taken. He is insane," Jo muttered and rolled her eyes.

"He did kidnap Sean," Nick said.

Cassie turned to look at him in surprise. He was sitting on a lawn chair, smoking. He looked completely unbothered by the entire situation. It was the leather jacket and the cigarette.

"He didn't kidnap him," Deborah said. "He's keeping him on lockdown until his possession can be determined."

"Sure, he is," Nick snorted.

The Henderson twins spoke up. "I don't think it should take this long."

"And I think we should check out Sean's condition for ourselves."

"That might be tough," Jo said. "Dad and the other elders are going to help him this weekend. With any luck, Sean will be back at school on Monday."

"He better be," was all Nick said.

"The protection spell should be easy to do," Diana said in a gentle tone of voice.

As a group they gathered the ingredients they needed. Meanwhile, Jo put the twins down for a nap.

Cassie took her place in the circle. Somehow, she ended up between Faye and Nick. She took their hands. Faye looked at her then Nick and then back at Cassie. A knowing smirk appeared on her lips and she winked at her. Cassie ignored her because that was usually the best practice with Faye.

Nick's hand was warm and rough. He squeezed her hand and when she looked over at him, she saw his expression was still ice cold. Nick was like that, beautiful, but frozen. As if nothing ever touched or warmed him. But right now, his touch was gentle and kind. She was touched, she hadn't known Nick liked her. She had thought he found her another nuisance, but apparently he liked her and even Sean.

As one, they started to chant. In the center of their circle was one of Bonnie's necklaces. They kept going, saying words of protection and safety repeatedly. Cassie felt a warm energy come over her. It was charged, the energy between her and the rest of the coven growing stronger as the spell took effect.

It ended in a burst of bright, white light.

Cassie met Jo's ice cold blue eyes on the other side of the circle. They both smiled.

"Cassie, you need a ride home?" Nick asked her.

"Sure," she smiled at him. "Thanks."

She had ridden out with the Henderson twins, but they wouldn't mind. They were off to blow up some cars at the junk yard. Cassie didn't want to come along for that just in case they got caught. Usually, they cast spells to remain undetected, but sometimes the police did catch them.

Faye scowled at her and Cassie remembered that she and Nick used to have an arrangement. She ignored it. Faye was always in a mood and now that they were under different leadership, she wasn't as renegade as she had been back in New England.

Diana had never intimidated Faye or been able to control her. Joshua Parker was another story. He kept Faye in line the same way he did everyone else by being a terrifying dictator that punished any transgression no matter how small in an unnecessarily harsh manner. It might not have worked in another coven, but since every Gemini's life was tied to his, it was effective. They couldn't dispose him and if they tried any form of rebellion, well Cassie shuddered to think of the consequences if it failed.

Joshua's number one rule was coven first. That meant there was no room for in-fighting, which meant Faye could never target her. No matter how much she wanted her to.

Nick kept his pace slow as they walked to his car. He lit another cigarette and the smell of smoke invaded her nostrils.

"Don't you know those things will kill you?" Cassie asked as she waved a hand in front of her face.

Nick laughed. Smoke came out of his mouth when he did. He smiled what might be the first genuine smile she had ever seen from him.

"You're different now."

"How so?" Cassie cocked a questioning eyebrow.

"You're braver, you talk more. It's like you aren't afraid of being seen anymore."

"Guess not. I'm not sure when that happened."

"It suits you."

Nick held the car door open for her and she blushed. Kai had never done anything like that for her. Kai was hot and funny, but a total dick.

Cassie got in and unlocked the door for him when he went around to the other side. Nick sat down and turned on the music. It was an eighties rock band, she couldn't remember the name. but her mother used to listen to them.

"Are you and Adam over?"

"Way over," Cassie said with an eyeroll.

"So Kai then?"

"Over too. What about you and Faye?"

"Over ages ago. She's kind of a bitch," Nick laughed. "Not that we had a lot of choice back in New England."

"Yeah, you guys were a pretty tight-knit group."

"Uh-huh," Nick nodded and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "What are you doing on Friday night?"

"Nothing yet."

"Cool, do you want to go to the movies with me?"

Cassie paused. She turned her head to the side to really look at Nick. His face showed tension and she realized he was asking her out on an actual date.

"Yes, it sounds like fun."

XXX

Bonnie was seriously pissed off when she walked back into the Parker home with her Grams and Kai. Kol had gone back to his apartment to meet Rebekah. The blonde vampire had flown to Portland to hang around because she missed her brother. Bonnie wasn't sure why, but for the rest of the drive back, Kol hadn't shut up about it. Something about how he was Rebekah's favorite brother. Honestly, she had tuned him out because she had problems of her own.

Kai took the stairs two at a time on his way to his bedroom. Bonnie started to follow.

"Bonnie, we are not done talking!" Sheila called after her.

"Yes, we are."

Kai had left the stairs to his room down for her. He must have known or hoped she would come with him. When she reached the top, Bonnie shut the steps behind her. It wouldn't stop any of witch that wanted to follow them, but it did give them some privacy if her Grams tried to come after them again.

Kai was sprawled out on the bed. He had a book propped open on his stomach, predictably it was a grimoire. Bonnie flopped down next to him. She put her head on his shoulder and read. From here she could smell his fresh, clean cologne. With one hand, he ruffled her hair. It was a lazy, affectionate gesture that made her sigh.

"You alright, Bunny?"

Kai tipped his head to the side, resting his against hers. She smiled and snuggled closer.

"No, but I will be."

"I can't say I emphasize because I've never been homesick in my life. I don't understand emotional attachment to objects and places."

Bonnie snorted almost but not quite laughing. "I wonder what that feels like."

"It's not giving a fuck, total freedom," Kai pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Right now, that sounds pretty awesome."

Kai dropped the spellbook and wrapped his arms around her waist. He turned around and pulled her closer. Their fronts were pressed together and Bonnie shivered, Kai was warmer and he pulled her to him.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck. His hands stroked patterns on her back. His touch was light and gentle, it ignited something within her. This was different than the other times they had been together. After this morning, she felt close to Kai. Emotionally close, which was weird and a little scary because he didn't really have emotions.

"You know, this always used to bore me too," he confided in low heated tones. "What is it about snuggling with you that's more fun?"

"Way to ruin the mood, look how special I am," Bonnie muttered.

Kai laughed. It was an open and warm laugh that rumbled through his chest and shook her body too.

"I was thinking maybe you could help me work on siphoning? Rebekah thinks it's something I can learn to control."

"Really? That's great news. But we would have to do it when there's someone around, just in case things get out of hand."

"Sure, whatever works for you Bunny."

Kai closed his eyes and started humming what sounded like grunge rock underneath his breath.

Bonnie sat up and picked up the grimoire he had been going through. She lay back down on her stomach and flipped through the pages. It was not easy to concentrate because Kai put his head on her lower back and was blowing air on her on purpose. That would have been easy enough to ignore if that's all he was doing, but he was running his fingers along the back of her thigh at the same time. Each time he touched her, sparks shot through her. There was an added tingle of magic and she wondered if the rings he wore were imbued with magic.

Still, she flipped through the pages and the ornate drawings. Finally, she stumbled onto something in Latin. She couldn't read all of it, but there were some words that jumped out at her. Words like 'merge', two becoming one and a trial.

Bonnie sat up so fast, she knocked Kai off her. He grumbled and rubbed his head.

"What the hell, Bunny?" he sat up and flashed a cheeky smile that ordinarily meant trouble.

"Where did you get this grimoire?"

"From dad's private collection. No one is allowed to touch it, but him," he flashed a goofy look. "How did I get my hands on it you ask? Well I'm just that mega powerful."

"Kai, be serious!" Bonnie grabbed onto his shirt and shook him.

"I am," he gave her a teasing look. "And I love it when you play rough, but since you want to know. I'll tell you. I spelled another book to look like it and snuck it out. Pops and I share fifty percent of the same DNA, crazy, am I right?"

"So the wards he had in place didn't register that someone other than Joshua took the grimoire, I get it," Bonnie rolled her eyes. "How's your Latin?"

"Not to toot my own horn, but I'm fluent."

"Great, read this."

Bonnie practically shoved the book onto his lap. Kai laughed at her and pulled her onto his lap then put the book on top of them. He put his head on her shoulder and she could feel his smile.

"If only you were this eager about other things. Are you a book nerd, Bon?" he asked in a teasing voice.

His breath tickled her neck and she grit her teeth to concentrate. Heat rushed through her body and she blushed.

"Could you please just read the text and translate it for me, I think it's important."

Kai chuckled and kissed her neck. "Anything for you, Bunny."

His brow furrowed and he leaned further forward as he read.

Bonnie elbowed him. "What does it say?"

"I'm not sure I believe it," Kai breathed. "I think this is an alternate merge spell."

"Alternate? I thought you were fluent."

"I am, at least I thought I was, but I can't possibly be reading this right."

"Do you think Kol or Rebekah speaks Latin?"  
"Probably, they're ancient," Kai said with a 'duh' sort of tone of voice.

"Should we ask him to take a look?"

"Bunny, I'm not letting Kol near this grimoire. He's a little too interested in collecting magic."

"You don't trust him."

Bonnie turned around to study Kai. His blue eyes were staring into hers intently. They were narrowed into slits, cold and calculating.

"I would be stupid if I did. He's a vampire and they are known for keeping witches under their thumbs."

"Well yeah, but you two are BFF's."

"Bunny," Kai breathed. He kissed her and sucked on her lower lip, she moaned. He let go and touched his forehead to hers. "I know you don't trust me either, but don't get too attached to Kol. Cause vampires and witches? It never ends well."

"But what about the spell?"

"I think it's a way to take a witch or warlock's powers in the merge without killing them. It's like gifting the magic instead of stealing it."

"But if that exists why would your dad keep it a secret?"

"Because that sneaky bastard picked up this grimoire at an auction a few years ago. I remember when he brought it home," Kai looked thoughtful. "I know he must have found the spell. He's a sadistic bastard, but even he wouldn't –" he shook his head. "I hate to say it, but I think I am translating it wrong."

"I don't know, Kai. There isn't a whole lot I wouldn't put past your dad."

Bonnie turned around to look at him. Kai stared back at her and she could see the muscles in his jaw work as he tried to figure this out.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has faved, followed and reviewed this fic! You guys are the best! So I have finally decided this is going to be a bonkai ending, but there is going to be a heavy kennett portion for a few chapters, but not to fear, it's bonkai endgame. It seems like that's the way most of the readers are leaning and I'm a sucker for the warlock/witch dynamic. Besides, I have several other kennett fics.**

 **I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to stay in the loop about updates or send me a drabble request. Also I apologize for being late replying to reviews on other fics, I have been slammed with work and trying to write as much as I can, but I am answering as quickly as I can because I love, love, love and appreciate reviews!**

 **Izzy**


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

Kai was still internally debating whether or not to involve Kol. Bonnie could tell by the angry, thoughtful expression on his face. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, she took out her phone and called Kol. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hello little witch," he said in a flirtatious voice that made her roll her eyes.

He couldn't give it a rest for two seconds even? Between him and Kai, no wonder her head was spinning.

"Hey, Kol. How's your Latin?"

"Passable, it was never my favorite. French and Italian are sexier."

"I am rolling my eyes so hard right now."

Kai snatched the phone from her. Bonnie tried to take it back, but he kept her at arm's length.

"Are you flirting with my girl?" Kai demanded in a dangerously calm voice.

She couldn't hear Kol's answer, but it made Kai growl before he put Kol on speaker-phone.

"What's this about Latin?" Kol asked.

"We think we found something, but I'm not exactly fluent and it's so impossible Kai thinks he is reading it wrong."

"I know, I know," Kai said in falsely modest tones. "What are the odds of me being wrong you ask? Not good, but that's how insanely mind-blowing and paradigm changing this spell is."

"I'm on my way," Kol said and Bonnie heard the sound of him putting on a jacket.

"No, don't," Kai said.

"Yeah, we can do this over the phone," Bonnie said.

She wasn't sure how she trusted more or who she trusted less might actually be a more accurate phrasing. But she did know if Kai was distrustful of Kol when it came to magic then she should be too.

"Very well," Kol sighed theatrically.

Bonnie exchanged nervous looks with Kai. Bonnie read the text to Kol with Kai supplementing the words she stumbled on. She wasn't used to reading Latin aloud with an audience. She had done it during spells, but then her mind had been so focused on the casting that she didn't notice or care if anyone listened to her.

Now the words felt unfamiliar and clumsy in her mouth. Kai draped his arm around her shoulders in a casual stance that made her blush. She shoved him off her.

"Are you two flirting?" Kol said suspicion in his voice. "I can hear something going on and I don't like it."

"You know I'm not with either of you, right?"

"You aren't my girlfriend, Bunny?" Kai said feigning shock. "How can this be? I thought for sure we were going steady after we attended the sock hop together."

"What the bloody hell is he on about now?" Kol growled. "And what is a sockhop? It sounds dirty."

"Never mind, he's just being 'funny'," Bonnie said with air quotation marks around the word 'funny'.

"I'm hilarious," Kai told her giving her a squeeze. "And we know the deal, Bon you can't decide because you don't really like either of us, but you're stuck with us."

"Sooner or later she will likely develop Stockholm's Syndrome," Kol said in a mischievous tone of voice.

"Knock it off both of you."

"Even me?" Kai asked pointing to himself with an innocent expression.

"Especially, you," Bonnie waved her hands. "Look, we are getting way off track. What does it mean, Kol?"

"It sounds as if you two don't trust me," Kol said slowly and Bonnie could hear the wheels turning in his head. "Why should I help you? Enlighten me."

"Kol, come on. Not this again," Bonnie groaned.

"What do you want?" Kai said, his blue eyes had narrowed into slits.

"I think you know what I want."

"And I think you know that isn't going to happen."

Bonnie had a sinking feeling they were talking about her, which she chose to ignore. Engaging with the two of them only lead to them get more off track.

"This is ridiculous, Kol. We're kind of friends. We can help each other out."

"I thought so, but it's apparent you don't trust me or you would let me look at the text."

Bonnie nudged Kai and mouthed the word 'lie' to him.

"Look man," Kai said switching to a charming, friendly tone of voice. "Bunny and I are in a hurry because dear old dad will be back any minute and I need to get this grimoire back to where it belongs."

There was a long drawn out pause before Kol spoke again. "Very well, but you owe me. That includes you, little witch."

"Sure, as long as it isn't a creepy favor," she muttered.

"So suspicious," Kol chuckled. "No, the darker favors I'll reserve for Kai. Anyway, that is an alternative merge spell. A casting that allows the witches or warlocks to measure their strength and the weaker twin to gift their magic to the stronger one."

Bonnie held her breath. "Does that mean no one has to die?"

"It does," Kol and Kai said in unison.

"Gifted magic doesn't kill the witch," Rebekah said joining the conversation. "It's a little known fact, but very true."

Bonnie could hear her smirk.

"You're on speaker now," Kol announced.

"Thanks for the belated notice," Bonnie grumbled.

"Knock it off, I'm on your team Bonnie. For a mortal, you're alright," Rebekah drawled.

"Thanks, I guess? You're okay for an Original vampire."

"I'm amazing," Rebekah intoned.

Bonnie had to smile at her arrogance. It reminded her of Kol. But she did wonder when Rebekah had decided she liked her. They hadn't exactly spent a lot of time together.

"But why would Joshua keep something like this a secret?" Bonnie asked.

"Power, control, those are the usual motives," Kol drawled. "Don't you think, Bekah?"

"Naturally. He is playing some sort of game," Rebekah chimed in. "Be careful, both of you."

"Joshua is calculating," Kol agreed.

"Still," Kai's jaw worked as he thought about it. "It doesn't make sense. This book is ancient, which means at some point the Geminis must have known there was another way and someone along the way either changed the tradition or buried the truth when it was discovered."

A shiver ran down Bonnie's spine. "And now Joshua is trying to do it again."

"That is likely. The Gemini coven is older than we are. I would not be surprised to learn there are many secrets and sordid details we have never heard of," Kol said.

"And your family is notoriously secretive," Rebekah said. "Probably for a reason, my sweet Kai."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at that. Kai smirked and shot her an amused look. He put the phone on mute.

"You're cute when you're jealous, Bunny."

"I'm not jealous. I'm surprised you're her type."

Kai unmuted them and chuckled silently.

"Thanks for the assist," Kai told them. "We have to get this back before dad gets home."

"Best be quick about it," Kol agreed.

The call went dead.

The silence was deafening. Bonnie and Kai were left staring at each other.

"So you're family's as messed up as the Mikaelsons, go figure," she said when the silence became to pressing.

Kai laughed. It was a full warm laugh. "Looks like."

With a wave of his hand, Kai magicked the book away.

"Back in place?"

"Back in place."

"On the bright side, you won't have to kill Jo."

"I'm a sociopath, Bon. That's good news, why?"

Bonnie gave him a disgusted look. Before heaving a heavy, resigned sigh. Clearly, she was surrounded by sociopaths.

"Because she's the only one of your siblings you actually like."

"Occasionally I like her," he corrected with an appalled expression because how dare she accuse him of caring. "For the most part, I tolerate her."

"Wow, I think your heart just grew three sizes."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Now, you on the other hand? You, I like."

Bonnie looked away. She didn't want to talk abut this. Kai couldn't actually feel love and it was something she kept forgetting. Sometimes, he was so normal and nice in his own way, that she could almost believe he might be capable of it. At least with her, but now he was being honest. So honest, it was painful. He liked her and she knew that, but she also knew it would never amount to anything more than like and lust. That wasn't enough for her in the long run.

Kol at least is capable of love, a small part of her mind whispered. That was another thought she wasn't dealing with right now. She pushed that aside as firmly as she did her thoughts about Kai.

"Bunny, what's that look on your face? And the silence?" he made a weird clucking noise with his tongue. "Not cool. Because you know, I get my emotions mixed up."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You are so dramatic. Is that something you are capable of understanding?"

"You're annoyed with me."

It wasn't a question. Kai tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek.

"If you had feelings maybe you would even understand why."

Bonnie turned away from him.

"I can't change who I am, but I can lie to you. I can pretend to feel things I don't if it'll make you like me."

"That's the problem, Kai. I like you and sometimes, I think you would leave me for dead if it saved your own ass. And I'd never do that to a friend."

Kai snorted. "There are a lot of people, I would leave for dead, but you're not one of them, Bunny."

"Is this one of your lies?"

"No," he rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I never lie to you. There are some things I haven't told you about me and my family, but I don't lie."

The wheels were turning in her mind. Finally, she came to the conclusion, Kai hadn't lied to her that she could think of. He had admitted to being a sociopath when he was called out on it and she could understand why he hadn't shared that with her of his own free will. The only time, a lie came to mind was during the bar massacre. But in hindsight, she should have known he was lying. She knew he might be lying to her even now, but what was the point? He wasn't normal and she couldn't force him to tell the truth.

"So are we cool?"

"Kind of. Anyway, I have homework to do before school tomorrow."

"You should just make your teacher's think you turn your work in. That's what I do. Frees up time for studying magic and other more fun things."

"That's unethical," Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Check it out, dear old dad is calling. How much are you willing to bet he is about to chew me out?"

"Whatever."

Bonnie left. Whatever argument Joshua and Kai were about to get into, she didn't think it was her business. He was probably going to yell at Kai, a more dramatic version of the conversation she herself had with her Grams.

XXX

Bonnie was not having the best day to begin with and her mood worsened even further when Joshua eventually returned to the house. His presence was felt almost immediately. Bonnie's first clue about his return was how hard he slammed the front door behind him. The second was the roar he exclaimed.  
"BONNIE SHEILA BENNETT!"

Jo, who was doing her algebra homework looked over at Bonnie, who shut her history textbook.

"Guess I'd better go face the music."

Bonnie reached the bottom of the stairs a few seconds ahead of Kai. He bounded to a stop behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. He gave it a quick squeeze. Jo turned up behind him again.  
"Did I call for either of you?" Joshua sneered.

"Woah, dad, relax," Jo said, "The twins' nap should be done by now anyhow."

Jo left, but she shot a few nervous glances over her shoulder as she went.

"I'm staying," Kai said.

Bonnie backed up closer to Kai when she saw the expression on Joshua's face. His face was twisted into an angry red knot.

"Your grandmother and I made a deal to keep you in Portland. You clearly aren't going to listen so I'm afraid I have to resort to extreme measures to keep you in town."

"What?" Bonnie gasped.

Fear registering, she turned to run. She grabbed Kai's hand expecting him to run with her, but instead, his hand tightened around hers. She felt a burning pain as if her skin was being flayed. Her magic poured out of her and into Kai. She cried out and fell forward, landing against Kai.

"My son is an abomination, but sometimes that's useful," Joshua explained in arrogant tones.

Bonnie kicked Kai and tried to hit him, but he clung to her. The longer he held her, the weaker she grew until she stumbled. She almost fell and Kai caught her. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Sorry, Bunny. I know we're like the best couple ever, but I kind of need to do this. I'll tell you all about it later."

Feeling weaker by the second she groaned. "Shut up. Just shut up for once, Kai."

Right before she blacked out, Kai handed her to Joshua. Bonnie saw him take out his phone and start to text.

Joshua dragged her into his study. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but when the rest of Kai's siblings came rushing in to help, a force field knocked them back, keeping them out of the study.

"Kai, why didn't you stop him?" Jo cried accusingly.

That's what Bonnie wanted to know.

Bonnie tried to throw a spell at Joshua, but it failed. She couldn't feel her magic at all. Kai had taken enough to subdue her. Joshua used his magic to tie her up and lay her down on the couch. Now Bonnie's heart was pounding with fear, what was this psycho up to?

Worse than fear was the betrayal she felt from Kai. She had known he was a sociopath, but just earlier today he had told her he liked her. But he was letting Joshua do this to her. She had thought at the very least they were friends so why was Kai helping him?

Slowly, the realization that she could not rely on anyone, but herself dawned on her.

Joshua pulled up her sweater and she screamed and thrashed. It did not good his magic kept her trapped. Something burned on the base of her neck, right above her spine. It felt like Joshua was burning some kind of pattern into her back and she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from screaming.

"DAD STOP!" Jo cried.

"DAD!" Kyle roared.

Bonnie heard what sounded like someone throwing themselves at the barrier then a crash followed. More attempts followed this time with Jo using her magic.

"Give it up, sissy. You barely know enough magic to float a pencil let alone crack one of dad's spells."

"THEN YOU DO SOMETHING!" Jo screamed. "KAI YOU HAVE TO HELP HER!"

The scene outside of the study was starting to fade in Bonnie's conscious mind. The burning was growing worse and she started to howl with pain before she finally blacked out. Before she sunk into unconsciousness she felt a burst of magic fly out of her.

XXX

Kol came running into the Parker house or tried to, the spell Kai had cast to let him back in must have stopped working. He crashed against the invisible barrier. Rebekah was right behind him, she came to a sudden stop.

Kol slammed his fists against the invisible wall and roared in anger. "BONNIE!"

"Kol!" Jo said sighing in relief. "Come in. You too Rebekah."

Kol ran inside and came to another stop in front of the drawing room. Joshua was unconscious on the floor of his study. Bonnie was on her back on a sofa with a tattoo half-formed on her back. He vaguely recognized the pattern. He needed a closer look. He listened to see if Bonnie was still breathing and realized she was unconscious.

Kai looked at him and rolled his eyes. "None of you idiots better tell dad I did this."

Before Kai could cast whatever spell he was going to, Joshua woke up. He cast a spell on Bonnie's form. The tattoo on her back glowed and shifted in gold.

"JOSHUA! I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T GIVE HER TO ME RIGHT NOW!" Kol slammed his fists against this new barrier and the whole house shook.

Rebekah sauntered up next to him. "I would listen to him Joshua. He doesn't care if it will decimate your coven."

"You can take the girl. I'm done anyway."

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Joshua levitated Bonnie out of the study. Kol caught her unconscious form in his arms easily. He shot Kai one last look of disgust.

Bonnie was in danger and the most he could muster to save her was a measly text? He couldn't stand up to his father? No, he could simply assist Joshua and text Kol on the side. Pathetic and Kol vowed he would let Bonnie know Kai failed to protect her.

Rebekah strolled out the front door and Kol followed.

XXX

Bonnie woke groggily and slowly. Her head pounded and she couldn't work out where she was. There was a searing pain in her back and that's when she realized she was on her stomach, on a leather sofa.

"Bonnie?"

Gentle fingers caressed her cheek.

She blinked and the blurry outline of Kol's features slowly came into focus. "Kol?" she blinked and yawned. "Where am I? What happened?"

"I think you passed out from the pain," he told her in a gentle voice she had never heard him use before.

"Joshua attacked me," she croaked. "And Kai helped him."

The thought of her betrayal from Kai made her want to cry, but she stuffed those feelings down.

"Do you know what he was trying to do?" Rebekah drawled she was looking at Bonnie with something akin to sympathy.

"I have no idea. It hurt, it still hurts," she gasped as another wave of pain coursed through her.

Kol's vampire face appeared he bit into his wrist and offered it to her. "Here, it'll heal the skin."

Heal the skin? What had Joshua been doing?

She didn't get the chance to ask though. He pressed his wrist to her lips and she tasted blood. It was like copper and she lapped it up on instinct. It was warm and her head started to fill with cotton, it felt like she was drifting off. The pain faded away.

All too soon, Kol pulled his wrist back. She whimpered in complaint, he shushed her and drew her into his arms.

After a moment, Bonnie felt as if she was sobering up or coming back to herself.

"What was Joshua trying to do?"

"I can't say with hundred percent certainty, the Geminis have always kept their particular brand of magic tightly under wraps however, from what I've seen of similar spells over the years, I think I know."

"Oh, get on with it Kol!" Rebekah snapped. "The poor girl is going to die of boredom before you finish your explanation."

"Bekah, she is not in any life threatening danger. She never has been."

"What happened to me, Kol?"

Kol's eyes filled with warmth when he looked back at her. He caressed her hair.

"I think Joshua cast a spell to keep you within the confines of the Gemini territory."

"What?" she sputtered.

"He magically put a tattoo on your back with symbols that will prevent you from leaving the area."

"How is that even possible?"

"It's ancient barrier magic. Some of the older covens used to practice it for a variety of reasons I'm certain you don't care to hear about and it would seem Joshua thinks it is the only way to keep you in Portland."

"Oh my God," Bonnie closed her eyes.

"I healed it, but it would have healed on its own in a day or two. It's powerful magic."

"Can the spell be broken?"

"I'm not certain," Kol looked at Rebekah. "Have you ever heard of such a spell?"

"Of course, I haven't. I don't spend all my time hanging around witches."

"We'll have to call Sheila. She's likely going to be furious when she hears."

"Unless she gave permission," Bonnie said dejectedly. "She dumped me here, who knows what else she would do?"

"She left you here for your protection, this is – this is vile."

Kol sat down on the couch and Bonnie laid her head on his lap. She sighed and let him play with her hair, taking the comfort he was offering.

"So you finally got me to your apartment."

His apartment was nice, she hated to admit it, but it was. It was decorated with dark, masculine colors. The couches were leather and there was a large flat screen TV on the wall. There was a game console underneath it. The walls were a dark green with paintings lining the walls. Out of the windows, she could see the cityscape of Portland.

Rebekah was lounging in a chair with a cocktail and a cigarette. She was dressed immaculately and looked completely exasperated.

"How do you feel?"

"Better," Bonnie said thinking that his blood had taken away all the pain.

The only pain she had left now was the sting of betrayal. She couldn't believe Kai had done that to her. How could he let Joshua brand her like an animal?

Kol kissed her forehead. "No one is going to hurt you here, little witch."

"Gross," Rebekah wrinkled her nose. "I'll give Sheila a ring, shall I?"

Rebekah didn't wait for them to answer, she left the room.

Bonnie sighed. "You were right. I shouldn't have trusted Kai."

Kol's fingers massaged her scalp. "He's not like your playmates in Mystic Falls. The Gemini coven has always been ruthless."

"But betray your friends ruthless? That's insane."

"Sweetheart, you aren't friends," Kol said in a gentler voice than he normally used. "He fancies you certainly, but he fancies power within his own coven more."

"I should go."

Bonnie sat up. Kol took her hand and wrapped it between both of his. "Go where? Until we find a solution, you can't leave the city."

"I don't know. Just away from everyone and everything."

"Don't be absurd. Stay here, little witch."

"What? No, I can't do that," Bonnie said well aware the only person she could count on now was herself. So she might as well start right away, she wasn't going to lean on Kol only to have him betray her the way Kai did.

"Bonnie," Kol gave her hand a squeeze. "I've told you before if things get dangerous with the Geminis, you can come to me."

Her Grams had said the same thing just earlier today. And it wasn't the first time it had occurred to her having an ally outside of the coven might be a good thing. Still, she didn't trust Kol. How could she when Kai had betrayed her just a few short hours after promising she could trust him?

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You were hoping something like this would happen."

"I wasn't hoping anything. Honestly, you're paranoid enough to be a Mikaelson," he scoffed. "But I was prepared for it unlike you."

"Honestly, Bon," Rebekah sighed sauntering back into the room. "Kol did try to warn you not to trust your little high school boyfriend. Gemini warlocks are deadly and I ought to know, I've had a dalliance or two with them over the centuries."

"Does the phrase ritualistic human sacrifice mean anything to you?"

"Are you kidding, Kol?"

"No, they used to sacrifice people at least a few times a year," Kol said. "The merge ceremony is simply the last survivor in their long line of blood-soaked traditions."

"Creepy? You two kill people for food."

"And for sport," Rebekah chimed in.

Bonnie shot her an exasperated look. "My point exactly."

"Oh, come off it, we're vampires," Kol rolled his eyes. "You're so terribly judgemental, little witch. Now will you stay here?"

"You'll be safe, we promise," Rebekah said with a bright smile. "Oh, and your Grams is working on it. I told her you were taking a nap. Kol told me the two of you are fighting so I thought it was best if you didn't have to talk to her."

"Thanks," Bonnie said. "I don't want to talk to her. This is all her fault. She dumped me here with these maniacs."

"Well I hate to agree with any of Kol's girlfriends, but I can't argue with that logic. The Parkers might even give our family a run for our money when it comes to madness."

"Joshua is mental," Kol agreed. "I've got to admit, I'm almost impressed."

"You be impressed, but meanwhile I've got this thing on my back."

Bonnie pulled up the back of her shirt to show them the tattoo.

"Bonnie my sweet, so dramatic I can't see a thing," Rebekah said.

Kol flashed a smile. "That's because it's gone."

"It's gone?" Bonnie gaped.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it, but it's gone."

Bonnie ran into the bathroom and checked her back in the mirror. There was nothing there. The skin was smooth and as unblemished as it had been this morning.

"Is it the vampire blood?"

"Can't be," Rebekah said.

"No, it would heal the wound, but not the magic from the casting," Kol agreed. "The only thing I can think is someone cast a protective spell on you."

Now Bonnie was genuinely confused. "Who would do that?"

"Perhaps your Grams or your friends?" he suggested.

"My friends aren't witches – oh you mean my friends here. That's possible. I'd say Grams thinks I am safe with Joshua because he gave his word, he would keep me safe."

"I've spoken to Sheila about this before and she doesn't think Joshua would hurt you. She does think he might use unconventional methods to keep you in Portland, but nothing this extreme. She believes he has limits."

"And we know he doesn't."

"I tried to warn her he was a monster."

"Witches," Rebekah scoffed. "The lot of you that isn't evil always assumes the rest of you play by the same rules. Your Grams should know the Geminis don't adhere to nature the way Bennetts do."

"Does everyone know all about my family history?"

Rebekah shrugged. "My brother is a witch obsessed freak."

Bonnie looked at Kol in complete exasperation. "Your family is powerful and filled with solitary witches. The Bennetts have always attracted a lot of attention. Most of the supernatural world has encountered them at some point or another if they lived long enough."

"Even Elijah used to hang out with your Grams. He trailed after her like a lost puppy for years."

"My Grams did that?" Bonnie stared at them in surprise. "Do you know any details?"

"Not bloody likely. Have you met Elijah? He's not exactly the sort to overshare."

"I guess that's true."

Bonnie stayed there with Rebekah and Kol. Kol as it turned out was quite the chef. He cooked up a fantastic Italian dinner. A meal he had learned to cook around the 15th century. Bonnie watched him as he moved through the kitchen.

"I love all of these modern inventions, it makes cooking so simply even a child can do it," Kol remarked as he put one of the dishes in the oven.

"I'm actually not much of a cook," Bonnie confessed watching enviously as he sliced up vegetables for the salad with skill of an expert chef and the speed of a vampire. "Dad was never around much when I was little and Grams never taught me."

Rebekah flopped down on a stool next to her. "I for one and am all too happy to leave the cooking to someone else. When I was growing up, it was just mother and I slaving away in the kitchen for hours every day. Naturally, the boys never had to help because they were born with a penis."

"Stop your complaining," Kol told her and winked at his sister. "Us boys had father breathing down our necks all day long."

"You were his favorite," Rebekah retorted with a snotty look.

Rebekah poured them each a glass of wine and Bonnie accepted hers tentatively.

"You were his favorite. I was his favorite of the boys, but he was still a nightmare. Besides, stick father and Nik in the same room for more than two seconds and you are bound to have a disaster on your hands."

"What's Klaus like?" Bonnie asked unable to stifle her curiosity.

As far as she could tell all of the Mikaelsons were both evil and not evil in their own way. Yet they always talked about Klaus as if he was a monster. If they all hated him and considered him evil, he must be bad. It made her curious. Especially, since Kol considered Kai a friend. The same Kai that had completely betrayed her and left her alone when she desperately needed his help. But thinking of Kai was painful, so she forced herself to stop.

"He's a controlling dick. He spends all of his time trying to force us to be his family."

"That doesn't make sense, you're already family."

"Nik was the product of an affair my mother had. Our father detested him for it and he has never believed we were on his side. Tried to get us to buy into this forever and always crap. All it meant was that we were supposed to be blindly loyal to him."

Bonnie had a sip of wine as she tried to wrap her mind around it. Their sibling relationship sounded as dysfunctional as the Salvatores.

"It sounds like he wants servants not siblings."

Kol looked over, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. "I think you are right. I'm a little surprised however, you are an only child after all."

"True, but my friends are like my siblings. Elena has a brother so I saw from them what's it like to have siblings and the Parkers with the exception of Kai all act like siblings."

"What about Rebekah and I?"

"You do, but you two squabble a lot."

Kol laughed. "I suppose we do."

The dinner was delicious. Rebekah dominated the conversation with the list of things she would like to do to Joshua for what he did to Bonnie. Then, she talked about all of the things she was going to do when Nik was gone. She was going to travel, shop and have as many dalliances as she pleased.

Bonnie found her chatter soothing, almost normal in spite of some of the underlying darkness to it. After all, Rebekah was talking about storing her brother in a coffin for the rest of eternity, the way he had stored them in coffins for centuries at a time. It was all pretty messed up, but Bonnie was starting to think there was no such thing as normal when you were a supernatural creature.

XXX

Kol offered to share his room with Bonnie. To his amazement, she didn't kick him out. Instead, she curled against his side and fell asleep. She did look exhausted. Her expression had been tense and drawn from the moment she arrived here. Some of the tension seemed to ease over dinner and he knew that when humans relaxed, all of the tiredness and fear they were suppressing came rushing to the surface. Small wonder, she was out cold.

He heard someone at the window. He sighed as he realized someone was climbing the side of the house. He checked his phone as he waited for whoever it was to show themselves. Kai had sent one apology message to Bonnie. Kol, who was aware he was supposed to inform Bonnie that Kai was the one, who had contacted him, happily deleted it. If Kai thought he was above removing the competition when an opportunity was handed to him, he was wrong and quite frankly, did not know him at all.

Just as he put his phone aside, Alaric climbed through his bedroom window. He held a crossbow aimed at Kol and he smelled vervain as well as alcohol.

"What do you want?"

It was clever to use vervain on the arrow, but it would do little more than slow him down. Alaric really had no idea, who he was up against.

"I need to find Damon Salvatore and she," Alaric nodded to Bonnie. "Is from Mystic Falls. My guess, she knows where I can find him."

"You're in luck, mate. I'm feeling generous and I happen to know where he is."

Kol explained about the tomb that Damon was trapped in. Alaric's expression grew more confused as he listened.

"You expect me to believe that?"

Bonnie woke and blinked. In a voice still thick with sleep, she said; "What are you doing here Mr Saltzman?"

She sat up straight when she caught sight of the crossbow. Kol wasn't worried, if he fired an arrow, he would catch it in mid-air before it ever touched either of them. It would hurt like hell, but it would be worth it.

"I'm looking for Damon Salvatore."

"Oh, that dick," Bonnie spat.

"You know where he is?"

Kol was irritated. Alaric was more inclined to take Bonnie's word over his? How utterly insulting. He might on occasion fudge the truth or hide things, but Alaric had no knowledge of this. Bloody vampire hunters.

"Yes. He's trapped in a tomb outside of Mystic Falls. Vampires can enter, but they can't get out. Humans can though."

"You're not a vampire, are you?" Alaric's eyes narrowed and Kol did not like the way he was studying Bonnie. "Did you compel this girl?"

"No, I'm a witch."

Kol felt certain they had already had this conversation with Alaric, but apparently the man was dense. Probably a side effect of all the alcoholic he drank.

"Is there anything that isn't real?" Alaric demanded.

"Poltergeists," Kol offered. "Never run across one of them."

"Great, thanks for the info."

"Look mate," Kol said starting to lose patience. If he didn't leave soon, he was going to tear his throat out just for irritating him, which would have spoiled his good report with Bonnie. "If you leave now, I won't kill you. I really don't care if you want Damon dead so as far as I'm concerned you can slaughter half of Mystic Falls to get your revenge. Just get out of here already."

"Good."

Alaric started to back up toward the window.

"What did he do to you anyway?" Bonnie asked. "I'm just curious. He hurt a friend of mine and tried to hurt another."

"He killed my wife."

"Oh, guess that's a good a reason as any to kill him," Bonnie said after a long pause.

Kol looked at her. She was changing. When she had first arrived in Portland, she hated killing. Wouldn't have condoned it for any reason, but now? She was becoming like many of the witches he had known in the past, willing to kill to protect. For some reason, that made him sad even though he knew losing her innocence was Bonnie's best chance at survival.

Alaric escaped back out the window.

Sighing, Kol got to his feet. He closed the window and went back to bed. Bonnie snuggled into his arms and went to sleep. That amazed him, she must be changing to fall asleep after having had a crossbow aimed at her.

He stroked her hair until he fell asleep too.

 ***hides from bonkai shippers* I am so sorry! I know, I am evil, but I promise this fic still has a bonkai ending. As for the kennett shippers, prepare for a few more chapters of kennett. And a shoutout to the amazing people, who have stuck with this fic and a thank you to the reviewers, you guys are amazing!**

 **Let me know what you thought of this chapter. What do we make of kai's betrayal? Do we think he is scheming? Also do we love it when Kai schemes/goes psycho? Because if so, ready yourselves there will be more of that.**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: No, thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm on a mission to up the counts of bonkai and kennett fics in this world because I am still salty they were never canon.**


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

Bonnie was not surprised when her Grams showed up at Kol's door the next morning. Bonnie was wearing one of his T-shirts and sweatpants, she had a cup of coffee in her hand and she was not entirely awake yet when Sheila barged through the door and straight into the kitchen.

"Bonnie child, are you hurt?"

"No, thanks to Joshua and you, but yeah, I'm fine. Kol and Rebekah came to my rescue."

Sheila's eyes sparked. "I spoke to Joshua and I told him, I will not tolerate such treatment! I don't know what sort of parenting style he has, but I won't put up with it. You are not a member of his coven."

"THEN SEND ME HOME!"

Sheila looked taken aback. Rebekah sidled in and watched from the doorway, her expression was amused and curious. Kol looked up from his cup of coffee.

"You can't go home, Bonnie. You'll die," he said simply.

"If you don't want to go back right away, I understand," Sheila told her calmly. "However, returning to Mystic Falls is out of the question. I suppose perhaps there are other options. Once this Original business is cleared up you might go stay with Lucy."

"Yes, anything to get away from the Geminis."

"Even Kai?" Sheila looked taken aback.  
"Especially, Kai," Bonnie spat.

"Careful, Sheila," Kol crooned. "Don't go promising the girl things you can't keep."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie snapped turning her anger onto Kol now.

Kol ignored her. He kept his eyes fixed firmly above her and kept his focus on Sheila.

"Unless I have been misinformed, you have struck a deal with Joshua."

"What deal?" Bonnie demanded.

She was hardly surprised when no one answered her.

"Ah, so you have," Kol said reading something in Sheila's expression that Bonnie didn't see. "Then I would advise against trying to back out without something to offer in return. I can attest to how much Joshua wants this deal to go through."

Sheila pursed her lips. "You leave that to me, boy."

"You forget, I may look the same as age your granddaughter, but I am older than you," Kol said with an amused smile. "You should listen to me, Sheila. The last witch to cross the Geminis did not fare well."

"They weren't Bennetts."

"No, they weren't however, that doesn't change the fact that they are no longer in existence."

Sheila paled. "I'll handle Joshua."

"If you get into trouble, call me and I'll help you."

Sheila glared at him. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I ask you for help. Bonnie come with me, you can stay at the hotel with me for the time being."

Bonnie crossed her arms.

"No thank you, I'm staying here."

"Fun," Rebekah remarked with a smirk. "We can go shopping today."

"Rebekah, I have school."

"Boring," she rolled her eyes.

"Bonnie, this is ridiculous. Kol tell her she can't stay here."

"Can't do that, Sheila. Bonnie is always welcome in my home."

"Why won't you come with me?"

"Because you left me here and I told you, I wanted to go home and you left me here with the Geminis. I told you there was something wrong with them, in that house and you left me there! I can't count on anyone so the second I turn eighteen, don't worry Grams. I'll be out of your hair for good."

"I'll never stop worrying about you, honey," Sheila told her with a wan smile. "But if you need some time. take it. Just think about what you are doing, who you want to be because the choices you make now, they're going to impact your entire life."

"I have thought about them and I'm staying."

"Do as you like."

Bonnie watched her Grams leave with a lump in her throat. She blinked away the tears.

XXX

Kai had texted Kol and Rebekah trying to reach Bonnie. He had started out by trying to call her except she had left her phone here so it hadn't actually made a difference. Kol kept telling him Bonnie didn't want to talk to him and Rebekah hadn't bothered to respond at all.

The only reason, he hadn't gone after Bonnie himself was because his father was in fine form. He had summoned every member of the Gemini coven currently in Portland. Kai sat on the outskirts of the meeting. Jo was sitting with a group of witches and warlocks from the school. Annie and Katie were looking after the twins. Joey and Kyle were playing on their beat-up old Gameboys.

"We have come to a conclusion about Sean," Josh said his voice ringing with finality. "He is to be put to death."

Nick, Cassie, Jo and Diana all got to their feet along with Adam. They all started shouting at the same time.

"No, dad! He's just a kid!"

"He is NOT dangerous!"

"He's one of us!"

"I want a new trial! Open to all of the coven."

Joshua let them all rage. Finally when they had shouted themselves hoarse ten minutes later, he smirked.

"There will be no second trial. Sean is possessed by some dark being, I do not know what. It has left him now, but we can't be certain it will not happen again. Therefore, he will be put down, which is what the Geminis do with rabid dogs."

"He is not a rabid dog, he is a human being," Diana said and Kai saw a rare flicker of anger in her.

Maybe Diana wasn't quite as dull as he had once thought.

"If you don't like it, feel free to leave."

"You know that isn't an option," Cassie spat.

"Oh yes, that dark being you are fleeing," Joshua smirked. "I believe that is, who has possessed Sean. The death sentence will be enacted tonight. Anyone, who wants to say goodbye should do so today."

"This is outrageous," Nick told Joshua. "How can you condemn Sean to death for something that can happen to any of us?"

"Any of us?" Joshua's smirk broadened, he radiated smugness. "That's exactly why I called this meeting to ensure that no one else in the coven is vulnerable to possession. But first things first, does anyone know where Bonnie Bennett is hiding?"

A resounding silence fell over the group.

"Probably with the Originals," Kai chimed in with a brilliant smile. "And no, you won't find them. Kol puts a lot of protection around his home, a lot of it magical."

"How do you know?" Joshua demanded.

Ho ho, Kai thought to himself and he did chuckle. Grumpy old Joshua didn't want him to spend any time with the Original vampires. He didn't want anyone in his coven spending time with them. And he would not be pleased to learn Kai had spent a lot of time with Kol since he arrived in Portland.

"He told me," Kai said with a careless shrug. "He's pretty chatty. If you talked to him for about five minutes, you'd be amazed the stuff you learn. Like why Bunny isn't back in Mystic Falls."

Joshua scowled and Kai knowing he was on dangerous grounds, dropped it. Besides, by now it was an open secret in the coven why Bonnie was in Portland.

"Anyway," Joshua carried on. "After the coven meeting, we will spend time casting the protective spells necessary to protect each and every one of us from possession. I should think you all would have the mental fortitude to withstand such an attack, but as Sean has proven, some of you are weak. And that must be dealt with."

XXX

Cassie was supposed to go on a date with Nick after the coven meeting, but none of them were feeling particularly cheerful. Instead, she rode with Nick to visit Sean. He was being kept on the main Gemini compound. It was a heavily warded old building where no one actually lived.

Sean was being held prisoner in one of the rooms. When Cassie entered with Nick, they first had to clear their visit with the two older witches at the desk, who let them pass. One of the older women patted Cassie on the shoulder.

"We're sorry, dear."

Cassie didn't respond. She knew it didn't have to come to this. There were ways to protect Sean from future possession, but the Geminis were too paranoid. And Cassie had a sneaky suspicion that the reason, Sean was in this predicament was Black John. Somehow, he had used the power from that Crystal Skull to follow them to Oregon. A possibility, Diana was discussing with Joshua at the moment.

Sean looked terrible, was the first thing Cassie thought when she saw him. He had always been thin and pale, but now he looked like he was disappearing. He was so thin, he could only be described as gaunt. His skin was pale, chalk white and almost transparent.

"Oh, Sean," Cassie cried. She ran to him and engulfed him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. About everything."

Nick followed her. He didn't hug Sean, but he did pat him on the back. It had never occurred to Cassie before now, but she realized Nick looked at Sean like a little brother. He always protected him and when their old New England coven met for the first time alone after Sean attacked Bonnie, Nick had been the first one to speak up in his defense. He had been fairly quiet, but he had also been primarily responsible for the defense they put forth to the coven at large.

Not that it had done much good, but at least he tried.

Cassie let go of Sean and blinked back tears. Sean stared at her and his gaze was hollow.

"You guys should go."

Nick's face twitched, but he remained silent.

"We'll stay with you until the end."

"No," Sean shook his head. "Diana and Adam are doing that. I don't – I don't want the whole coven to see me die."

"Oh, Sean," Cassie grasped his hands. "That's exactly when we should be with you."

"We're not leaving," Nick told him. He put a hand on Sean's shoulder.

"No," Sean drew himself up to his full height. "This is bad enough without thinking you are going to see this too. Just do me one favor, okay?"

"Anything," Cassie said readily.

"Don't forget me."

"Never, buddy," Nick said grasping his shoulder more firmly. "Is there anything more we can do?"

"Yeah," there was a fierceness now in Sean's eyes that Cassie had never seen before. "Find a way to defeat Black John so our coven can leave the Geminis."

The severity of what he was asking dawned on Cassie. A grim resolution settled upon her and she saw it was mirrored in Nick's expression.

"We will," Cassie said. "Even if it's the last thing I do, I will end him so our coven can return to New England."

"We will," Nick said. "I vow it."

There was a shift in the air, it rippled with magic as they both vowed it. There was an almost cosmic click and Cassie knew they were bound to this mission.

"Good, you should go."

Cassie hugged him again. She squeezed him as tight as she could and blinked away the tears that were threatening to spill.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too."

Nick and Sean hugged afterwards.

She left the compound feeling morose. Tears were streaming down her face and she made no attempt to stop them. Nick looked like he was struggling with his own emotions. His face was an expressionless mask, which was what he did when he wanted to hide how he really felt. He draped his arm around her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go back to my place," Nick suggested.

"Yeah," Cassie whispered.

She turned her face into his shoulder, needing comfort.

XXX

When school came around Monday morning, Bonnie was surprised by how much more peaceful her morning was without the kids in the house. She had noticed how hectic it made Jo's life, but she hadn't given much thought to how much it affected her own routine. Joshua really was despicable for not raising his own kids, leaving Jo and the others to do all that work for him. They were just kids themselves like Bonnie.

And Bonnie was enjoying having some semblance of her normal routine back. She had coffee with Rebekah and Kol. It was thirty minutes of no one screaming or crying or breaking something.

It was heaven.

Bonnie had forgotten how peaceful mornings were without children running everywhere. Still, a small part of her missed listening to Annie and Katie chatter. She even kind of missed doing their hair. She also missed her quick chats with Jo as they both tried to have a cup of coffee and a slice of toast as they got the little kids ready. She even missed Kai's stupid comments and his crappy taste in music as he drove them to school.

But both Kai and Jo had betrayed her. So when she saw Jo outside of the school building, Bonnie hooked her arm through Rebekah's and strode past Jo without as much as a backward glance.

"Bonnie, please let me explain," Jo called after her.

But Bonnie acted as if she hadn't heard her at all. Rebekah turned around and smirked at Jo. Bonnie shook her head and wished Rebekah didn't need to be so petty all the time.

"Where did Kol go?"

"No idea," Rebekah said in a careless tone of voice. "You know how he is. Where do I sign up for these high school classes?"

"This way."

Having seen Jo put a damper on her morning. All of the sudden, she dreaded seeing Kai even more than she did already. His betrayal was the one that hurt the most. Stupidly, she had thought he cared about her.

"Oh, cheer up, Bonnie," Rebekah said nudging her. "I've been alive for a long time and let me share some wisdom with you. Betrayal is inevitable. People you think love you or care for you sooner or later they will disappoint you."

"Like Stefan did you?"

Rebekah's green eyes flashed dangerously. "How did you know about that?"

"Easy, I've known since the first time I met you."

"Oh dear," Rebekah sighed. "And exactly like that."

"So what I'm supposed to go through life distrusting everyone and then what?"

"No, silly girl. Love, trust and live life to the fullest. Only don't be surprised when someone betrays you. I've been by Nik's side for a thousand years, I swore an oath forever and always, but now? I'm plotting to put him down for the rest of eternity. And if Nik is surprised then that is on him."

"You know your family is messed up, right?"

"Oh, definitely," Rebekah agreed with a cheery smile. "But after a millennia family secrets and drama things get rather hairy."

Bonnie snorted.

She waited while Rebekah signed up for classes. With a little compulsion, transferring her in without records was easy. She was reminded of Stefan's first day of school and she was surprised by how complicated things had gotten since then. And if Kol was right then things would have been even worse if she stayed in Mystic Falls.

Funny that. Bonnie couldn't see how things could be more complicated.

When they arrived in their first class of the day, Kol was already there along with Cassie. Bonnie wasn't sure of her after what happened with Joshua so she said hello, but nothing more.

Kol leaned forward in his seat and ran a finger teasingly down her spine. Bonnie turned around to glower at him. He cracked a lopsided smile and winked at her. That wink, it made her heart skip a beat and heat course through her.

"Do you think there will be a class what with Alaric skipping town?" he murmured in her ear.

His breath fanned her cheek and she blushed.

"I don't know."

"Get a room," Rebekah growled. "Where have you been Kol?"

"Scheming and plotting. I've even done some gloating, sister dear."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. She wasn't exactly sure what Kol had been up to, but she suspected it involved Kai. Whatever business the two of them had, she wanted no part of.

"With Kai?" Rebekah asked.

"Why so curious, sister dear?" Kol crooned.

"Hey," Cassie said turning to Bonnie. "Did you hear about Sean?"

"No, is he okay?"

Cassie shook her head. She lowered her voice to a whisper and seemed to be fighting back tears. "The Geminis sentenced him to death after the possession yesterday. It was horrible."

"Oh my God, I am so sorry, I should have been there."

"It's okay, you would have been if you could have."

Bonnie reached out and held her hand.

"I liked Sean."

"Me too," Cassie said with a sad smile. "He was one of those people, who never hurt anyone. What Joshua and the others did to him -"

"Careful," Kol said leaning forward. "The Geminis do not take kindly to disloyalty and you are veering dangerously close."

Cassie nodded. Her expression was steely and determined. Bonnie's intuition told her there was something Cassie didn't tell her. Some kind of plan the New England faction of the Geminis might have. But knowing how dangerous Joshua was having witnessed it firsthand, she decided not to pry. The fewer people, who knew the better.

"I heard what happened to you," Cassie said quietly. "Jo told me."

Bonnie looked away unable to answer.

"Peculiarly enough, it did not work," Kol said fixing Cassie with an intent stare. "Someone cast a protection spell."

Cassie, who still looked cautious didn't as much as blink. Bonnie saw there was not even a glimmer of surprise, she must have known about the spell before now.

"Whoever did that must have wanted to keep you safe," Cassie said cautiously.

"And I owe them a lot," Bonnie agreed.

With one look she and Cassie understood each other perfectly. In spite of everything that had happened, they were allies. Both because they were friends and because they were witches, who needed the Gemini coven, but wanted no part of it.

"It's what friends do."

The vice principal came in. Explaining he would be covering Alaric's classes until a replacement could be found. There were a lot of questions surrounding Alaric's sudden departure and Bonnie could understand her classmate's curiosity. After all, there had been a lot of death in Portland lately. Keeping Portland weirder than usual.

Bonnie sat dazed through most of class, which the vice principal temped. She heard the occasional name or date, but nothing really sunk in. Mostly, she wanted to go home to Mystic Falls. She knew she might die if she went there, but really how much worse could life in there be?

After class, Bonnie walked away from Kol and Rebekah. She left Cassie staring in her wake. Bonnie liked Sean, but she didn't share in the grief so when the other New England witches joined Cassie, she left.

She sat down on a bench outside of the class. She was meant to be heading to math class now, but she figured it didn't matter. The school could call her Grams or Joshua, let them do their worst.

Unfortunately, Kai had followed her. He sat down next to her, bumping his knees into hers. She scooted away and looked off in the distance. She was ready to run at the first sign of trouble. She knew better than to risk a magical smackdown with a siphoner.

A lesson she had learned the hard way.

"What do you want?"

"To see if you're alright."

"I'm fine. Now go away."

"What did I do?"

Bonnie got to her feet and stared at him, appalled.

"What did you do? I knew you were a sociopath, Kai, but even you should know what you did."

She turned on her heel and walked away.

XXX

After his little encounter with Bonnie, Kai sought out Kol. They had talked earlier and the vampire claimed to have told Bonnie about the text. But now? Now, he wasn't so sure. He didn't fully understand emotions, but he suspected Bonnie felt betrayed because he hadn't protected her. But he had done the best he could in a crappy situation, why couldn't she see that?

Kol was on the bleachers and Kai knew it was right before cheerleading practice. Good, they would have a few minutes of privacy before half the school was out here and with Jo's magic thrumming through his veins, he was determined to make the most of it.

"You didn't tell Bonnie about the text?" Kai accused as he stalked through the bleachers to reach him.

Kol looked over and smirked.

"Didn't I? Must have slipped my mind."

"You're going to tell her."

Kai let every ounce of the monster he was show on his face. It was always a physical relief to let himself go. To be who he truly was. There was so little room for that in the rest of his life.

"I've told you, mate I already have."

Kol was on his feet too now coming toward him.

"And I've told you, you're lying. But fine, since you so obviously want to play dirty, then so will I. I wonder if it's possible to date my witch from the Other Side?"

"Your witch?" Kol growled his eyes flashing menacingly.

That's right, come at me, Kai thought with glee.

"Yes, _mine_."

Kol bared his fangs. Not wanting to give him the opportunity to attack first, Kai lashed out.

"MOTUS!"

Kol went soaring off the bleachers and landed in a heap. Kai raced after him and jumped off the bleachers. He landed nimbly just as Kol was getting back to his feet. With his vampire face on, his growl was even more animalistic.

Kai cloaked himself the instant Kol charged at him. He jumped to the side and used his magic to Kol on fire. He uncloaked himself and pulled out his secret weapon.

A white ash oak stake. It had been in his family for over a millennia. Kol's eyes narrowed, taking it in and Kai doused the flames. Kol started healing almost immediately.

Damn, Kai thought. He figured it would take Kol at least a few minutes to recover from that. These Original vamps were tough.

"Where did you get that?"

"I'm a Gemini," Kai said and cocked his head to the side. "And we keep weapons at our disposal for emergencies."

Back when Kai said the Geminis avoided tangling with the Originals because they couldn't be killed, he had lied to Bonnie. They could be and they had this stake on hand for emergencies, but Joshua preferred to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. There were too many vampires out there and too many could be made quickly for it to be worthwhile to make enemies of the Original family. Joshua might be a power hungry dick, but he was a coward.

"Your father should have turned that over when we told him we were after Nik."

"Now why would we give up something that is rightfully ours, I mean that's just batshit. Am I right?"

Kol charged and Kai was knocked his back. The air expelled from his lungs. He used a hint of his magic to teleport behind Kol. The vampire's reflexes were fast, but not that fast. Kai used the same paralyzing spell on Kol that Joshua had used on Bonnie.

He raised the stake in the air and stopped short.

XXX

Bonnie and Jo along with the rest of the cheerleading team emerged from the changing rooms just in time to see Kai and Kol going at it. Kai teleported behind Kai and raised his stake. Bonnie hadn't planned to intervene when she thought it was Kol pummeling Kai, but now? That was another story.

Over the weekend, she had gone over Kol's grimoires. He had a large collection and she used one of her new spells just in time. She raised her hand and allowed her magic to flow freely. In an instant, Kai's hand stopped short in thin air.

Behind her, she could hear the cheerleaders confused cries and screams. Rebekah, who had compelled her way onto the team was immediately working her vampire tricks to keep them from remembering this.

Bonnie strode forward with Jo and Celestia hot on her heels. Kai's hand was still trapped in her magic and she intended to keep it that way. His expression was murderous when he turned to look at her.

"What are you doing?" Bonnie hissed.

Anger was making her see red and she seriously considered doing Kai in herself.

"Me?" he pointed to himself with his free hand. His expression was one so innocent she wanted to set him on fire. "I was about to put down an Original when you stopped me. Not smart, Bunny siding with the vamp."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Kol can't be killed so I suggest you get away from him before he tears your throat out."

Kai stopped whatever spell he was casting on Kol so he could get to his feet. He moved away from him and Bonnie stopped her spell.

"What do you want, Kai?" her voice was hard, surprising even herself.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Kai gave a cheery little wave with his fingers and teleported away. Sighing, Bonnie turned to Kol, his clothes were a charred mess, but otherwise he looked okay.

"What happened?"

"Just a little squabble," Kol shrugged. Then he turned his gaze toward Jo. "I suggest you flee along with your brother before I vent my anger on you."

Jo paled, but stood tall. "So go ahead."

Kol rolled his eyes. "You really don't understand do you, darling? Kai is a sociopath, he won't care so I'd rather not waste my time, but if you insist."

Kol took one step toward her and she ran away.

Bonnie crossed her arms and stared at him.

"What did he mean he was going to put you down?"

"Family secret," Kol said with a devastating smile. "I should get home and change."

Bonnie surveyed his outfit and grimaced. "Sure you're alright?"

"I'm unkillable, remember?"

"I remember."

XXX

Two months later and Bonnie was still staying with Kol and Rebekah. Her Grams was furious and so was Joshua, but with the Mikaelsons shielding her, there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do to stop her.

As for Kai, he kept popping up at school asking her to talk. Pestering her and asking for forgiveness, promising never to let her down in the future. But each time, Bonnie just gave him a cold, hard look and walked away. Something similar seemed to be going on with Kai and Kol as well. Their friendship was over and Bonnie had no idea, but she had overheard Kai threatening to run a stake through Kol's heart. She had heard Kol's response to that, he threatened to kill Joshua, which would kill of them. So it seemed they were at a stalemate after that day by the bleachers.

Not to say, she didn't understand the urge, there were plenty of times she wanted to stake Kol now that she was living with him. Like right now when he was playing a video game when he was supposed to help her with history.

"C'mon, I just need to know how the date for the publication of the Malificus Malificarum," Bonnie groaned.

She thumped her head on the coffee table. Kol's game was so loud, she was sure the neighbors could hear him shooting zombies.

"You're a witch, shouldn't you know that already?" Kol asked shooting her a ruefully fond look out of the corner of his eye.

"Kol, c'mon, please. The internet is down and I just need to finish writing this paper, please, I am begging you."

If Rebekah was home, she would have asked her. But Rebekah was almost never home. She was usually at a bar, picking up strange men. Kol frequently told her she was a strumpet, but Bonnie didn't care. Mostly because when she and Rebekah were sort of close. But not in the same way she had been close with her friends in Mystic Falls.

"I could compel the new teacher to give you an A now that Mr. Vampire Hunter himself isn't there."

"Kol!"

He finally looked at her. He cracked a heartbreaking smile.

"Very well, what's the question again?"

"When was the Malificus Malificarum published?"

"1487," he replied evenly. "We're writing about the witch trials?"

"Some of us are," Bonnie retorted with an eyeroll.

Kol laughed. Maybe, he wasn't the worst roommate, she thought. At least not when he smiled at her like he was now. Or when he held her close at night, kissing her with a passion that made her head spin and her whole body burn.

The front door opened and Bonnie looked over expecting to see Rebekah. Instead, she was met with the sight of her Grams. She hadn't seen Sheila since the day after she left Joshua's house. She knew Kol was in regular contact with her because of the dagger, but Sheila had stayed away, having given up on parenting Bonnie since she refused to speak to her.

But she was here now, staring daggers at her granddaughter. Her disapproval was palpable, filling the room with tension.

"Shacking up with vampires, really child? I thought I'd taught you better," Sheila said coldly.

"Unlike Joshua Parker, they've never attacked me and since you and dad won't let me come home guess I'm staying here," Bonnie said not bothering to keep the rage from her voice.

Sheila frowned and her lips pursed into a thin line. She turned her sharp gaze on Kol.

"I have your dagger, boy. Elijah is going to call Klaus into town are you ready to move?"

"Tell me, precisely how does my brother intend to lure Nik into Gemini territory?"

Sheila looked at him as if he was an idiot.

"He isn't coming here. We are going to draw him to New York. According to Elijah it has been his base for years now. He apparently away for the time being, but bringing him back should be easy enough to do."

"New York?" Kol said surprised. "We are all going to New York?"

"Yes, you, Rebekah and Elijah."

"If Rebekah and Kol are going then so am I," Bonnie chimed in.

Sheila gave her a withering look. "I hardly think so. And how are you going to accomplish that with Joshua's boundary spell trapping you?"

"It didn't work," Bonnie said raising her chin proudly.

Sheila smirked. "Good for you, child. That will teach Joshua to cross a Bennett. But you are not coming to New York all the same."

"That is hardly your call to make, now is it?" Kol replied with a chipper smile. "And I thought it was all hands on deck?"

He caught Bonnie's eye and winked at her.

"Just be in New York by tomorrow night," Sheila snapped. "The Geminis will meet us there."

She turned on her heel and left.

Bonnie looked at Kol, who was still grinning.

"Your grandmother is quite something. She reminds me of you," Kol said.

Bonnie huffed and went back to writing her paper.

 **You guys are amazing and I am so excited to hear how so many of you are enjoying the Pact. This is kind of a filler chapter, but it is setting up some important things for later on. As always, let me know what you thought of the chapter. This is early because I am going on a roadtrip and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging after the last plottwist.**

 **Izzy**

 **AnaIsabel01: Omg, thank you so much! I am living for your reviews!**

 **Bellavida: Lol, Sheila should just take Elena out. Thank you for reviewing!**


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

 ***Disclaimer: Because it's been a while. But obvs I don't own TVD or the Secret Circle.***

Kol hadn't been to New York in centuries and he had to admit, the city had changed a great deal since then. He was surprised to see it was Nik's current homestead. His brother had always favored the big European cities yet he was here. Why, Kol could not say.

The city was loud and not loud in the one continuous party way as New Orleans. It was noisy in an industrialized way and the people were loud as well. Then there was the abundance of various odors all the worse to him and his heightened senses. He smelled piss, rotten food and pollution. There were rodents scurrying all through the underground sewer system. How did the citizens walk around here and kid themselves into believing this city of monstrous sky scrapers was a nice place to live? As far as Kol was concerned, it was no Rome or Paris or even London.

Bonnie and Rebekah were in the town car with him on their way to the hotel. Elijah and Sheila were already there. Elijah had booked the entire top floor and Sheila was apparently in the finest of those rooms. Kol knew what that was about, according to Elijah, Sheila was prepared to pack Bonnie up and return her to the Geminis. After all, why should they get involved in vampire business?

At least that was what Elijah said. Kol suspected it had more to do with Elijah's feelings for the woman. She had been something in the 70's according to Elijah and he had been madly in love. Not to say Kol did not understand the allure of the Bennett witches. They were powerful and headstrong with a fire that was unique to their family line.

Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face because Bonnie took her earphones out. There was a crease in her brow.

"What's wrong?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes. She usually did whenever there was even the slightest indication, he and Bonnie were more than friends. Rebekah had never truly liked any of his paramours over the years yet he suspected that was because none of them ever stayed long enough for her to grow attached. The one time she had thought the girl could be a friend, they had ended things and Rebekah had lost her first friend in a century.

But in spite of that, she liked Bonnie. And she pretended there was no romance there because she knew sooner or later it would end. And Rebekah did not like losing her friends.

Kol cracked a smile for her benefit. "Nothing."

"Seriously? What is it? You looked like you were going to a seriously dark place."

"I don't like this city."

Now it was Bonnie, who rolled her eyes. "We've been here like ten minutes."

"Kol always does this," Rebekah sighed. "It's wonderful or its dreadful, all decided within a span of a few minutes."

"Oh my God, you are fussy. How did I not know?"

"I am not fussy," he scoffed crossing his arms.

"You are," Bonnie exclaimed. Laughing she tugged on his arm. "Admit it. You're a fussy snob."

"I am not."

Kol used her hands on his arm to tug her underneath his arm. She squeaked in surprise and laughed. He pulled her close to him and she snuggled against his side.

The town car pulled up in front of the hotel. It was a stately old hotel called the Lombardy on the Upper East side. Bonnie could tell just by looking at the entrance that it was expensive. Even if she hadn't, the uniformed doorman and spotless reception would have told her.

To her it appeared the building was old, but the furniture was newer. It was bright and airy. If only this were a real vacation then she could really relax. It looked like the hotels she stayed in with her dad when they went on vacation.

Rudy was a workaholic and in spite of their middle-class home, they could afford some nice vacations. On the rare occasions when her dad actually took time off work. When she was a little kid, she used to ruin every vacation with tantrums. Her Grams said it was because her dad was never around so when he did spend time with her it threw her routine off and upset her because she didn't know what to do, which wouldn't be surprising since he took maybe one vacation a year. Bonnie just figured she was angry with her father for preferring work to his daughter.

The receptionist was a little too friendly and flirted a little too much with Kol. Irritation flared up and she was tempted to use her magic on the woman. An impulse she was quick to curb.

After all, she was determined to never get attached. After what happened with Kai, she never wanted to feel that sort of betrayal again.

"Mr. Mikaelson that will be three separate rooms, correct?" the receptionist's smile held warmth in it.

"My brother booked the top floor and we will only be requiring two," Kol replied evenly.

Bonnie blushed, but didn't argue when he looked at her for confirmation. it wasn't as if his apartment didn't have a spare room for her. She just preferred to stay in his room, it wasn't something they talked about. Just like how they didn't talk about how they never went further than kissing.

"Oh, I see," the receptionist said giving him a disappointed look before perking up. "Just call the front desk if there is anything else, _I_ can do for you."

Bonnie flashed a fake smile and put her hand on Kol's arm. "We're great, aren't we, sweetheart?"

Kol smirked and took the keys the receptionist gave him. He probably found her jealousy funny, which was a suspicion he confirmed almost immediately.

"You are delightful when you are jealous, little witch."

Bonnie groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not jealous. Your ego is out of control."

"Is it out of control if you are truly brilliant?"

"I suppose you will never know," Rebekah chimed in with a smirk. "After all, Kol there isn't a single area in, which you excel."

Bonnie laughed and upon seeing the hurt expression on Kol's face, she covered her mouth with her hand, faking a coughing fit.

"Honestly, Bekah, do you not have a single kind word to spare for your favorite brother?"

"No."

Rebekah turned her nose up. She strode into the elevator ahead of them, blonde ponytail swinging from side to side.

"I swear your mood gets fouler with every century that passes, dear sister."

Kol followed Rebekah into the elevator, complaining at her. Bonnie, who tried to stay out of all sibling squabbles was the last one in the elevator. And once she was there, she kept her gaze firmly fixed on the doors, ignoring Kol and Rebekah as if her life depended on it.

"Shut up, Kol. Is it not bad enough I am forced to live with you and your girlfriend as the third wheel? Now I must listen to the two of you flirt around the clock?"

Bonnie cringed. She wanted to break her rule of not getting involved in sibling fights.

"I'm sorry, Rebekah," Bonnie said.

"Humph," Rebekah said eyeing her with distaste.

"Come now, Bekah. You have plenty of admirers at school."

"Each one more inane than the last."

"Yeah, high school really isn't the best place to meet guys," Bonnie agreed. "Especially not if you are a thousand year old Original vampire."

Rebekah shot her a look of exasperation and pursed her lips together. "Kol, your child bride makes a good point. Perhaps I should try the college campus instead?"

"I'm not a child bride. The two of you are the ones with the abnormal age, not me."

"Bekah love, leave Bonnie alone."

"Why?" Rebekah retorted.

This started another round of squabbling that lasted until Bonnie reached the hotel room, she was staying with Kol in. She unlocked the door while Kol and Rebekah continued to argue. When Elijah, Sheila and Katherine came out of each their room to see what was going on, Bonne slipped inside.

This turned out to be the best idea she'd had all trip. The room was large. The suite was clean and elegantly decorated. Like the rest of the hotel it was the perfect mixture of old and new. The windows were from floor to ceiling and when she looked out of them, she saw the whole city sprawled out in front of her.

The New York city skyline was gorgeous. It took her breath away. It was dark outside, but the lights lit up the city like a million candles. She stared at the view until she felt like she would remember it fifty years from now.

Then she went into the bathroom. It was a black stone bathroom with a large tub in the centre of the room. The tub was ringed by candles and there were rose petals in the bottom of the tub. There were also lotions and various products sitting there too.

Perfect, Bonnie thought with a smile.

She turned on the tap and when it was filled with warm water, she climbed in. She sniffed every bottle of bubble bath gel. Until she found one that smelled of vanilla and oranges. She poured a dash of that in the tub and sighed in content when the heavenly scent filled the room.

She closed her eyes and let every ounce of tension, disappear. It would have been a whole lot easier to relax if only they weren't here to kill Klaus. If things went wrong, there was a good chance they would all be dead. Except Kol and Rebekah and Elijah, who would be back in their coffins.

But Bonnie, Sheila and Katherine? They would all be extremely dead. That was a gloomy thought, she pushed aside. They would just have to take their chances.

Bonnie was so engrossed in the relaxing bath, she didn't notice Kol was in the room. Not until he was standing right in front of her at the edge of the tub. She squeaked and quickly covered her chest with her arms. She pulled her legs up, hoping to hide as much of her nakedness as she could.

"What are you doing in here?"

"What's the problem, little witch?"

Kol's eyes were dark with hunger as they scanned her figure, trying and failing to discern something through the bubbles.

"I'm taking a bath. Normally I do that _alone_."

Kol chuckled. His fingertips played lightly along the surface of the water.

"I thought perhaps you would like some company?"

"You thought wrong. Now get out," Bonnie said trying to infuse as much anger as possible into her voice.

Kol sighed and left. Bonnie hurried out of the bathtub the second he was out of sight. Hastily, she dried off and packed herself into a fluffy white hotel rub. Then she padded into the next room where Kol was staring out at the sky.

Bonnie sat down at the bed and looked at him as she toweled her hair off.

"You could have knocked."

"The door was ajar."

"Oh," she said and noticed how he hadn't turned around. "What's wrong?"

"You tell me, little witch."

Now Bonnie was really confused. Kol sounded unhappy and it wasn't something that suited him.

"I would if you told me what this is about?" she said waving at his dramatic posing.

Kol turned his head toward her and cracked a smile before it was overtaken by the weariness she heard in his voice.

"We've been living together for two months and we've done nothing more than kiss, mind you I'm not complaining."

Bonnie winced. She should have known this was going to become an issue. And if she was being honest with herself, she was surprised it hadn't come up sooner. Kol hadn't even gotten to second base and they shared a bedroom.

"I know and I'm just not there yet."

"But you were there with Kai at least closer than I was."

Bonnie blushed. It was true, she had almost had sex with Kai. And they had done a lot more than kiss. Just thinking about it made her grow hot all over. Before the memory of his betrayal washed over her. It was like being doused in ice water.

"Yeah," she looked away. "Then he betrayed me. I needed his help more than I've ever needed anyone's help, ever and he just stood by and let Joshua attack me. He helped him."

Kol sighed and sat down next to her.

"I understand why you hesitate at getting involved in such an intimate way, I do. But I can't help wondering if the problem is that I'm a vampire."

Bonnie stroked his cheek. "No, that's not it. I'm not a big vampire fan, but I like you the way you are. Especially now that you aren't out massacring people."

She wondered exactly when her entire attitude towards Kol had changed. She guessed it had happened slowly over the past two months. Now, he was the guy she talked about everything with. In a way, he was her best friend. At least her best friend in Portland. And she was lonely, she had lost touch with all of her friends back home. Matt still called sometimes, but it wasn't the same. And talking to Elena on the phone? There was so much tension there it was just weird, but at least Elena didn't blame Bonnie for her imprisonment in Elijah's home.

Kol's smile was lopsided. "It's only the betrayal then?"

"No, well mostly. The thing is, the first time I had sex the thing got complicated and him and I only went out for like a minute afterwards, I don't want to make that mistake twice. And you aren't even my boyfriend."

"Can I be your boyfriend?"

"If I say yes, it doesn't mean you are getting lucky tonight."

"I assumed as much, can I still be your boyfriend?"

Bonnie smiled in spite of herself. "Yeah, I'd like that."

XXX

Kai was having a shitty trip to New York. The only thing worse than being forced to spend time with the people in his coven was being forced into an apartment with his coven – the teen version. The adults were all too happy to send them as their liaison with the Originals.

Chickenshits, Kai thought.

Every single adult member of the coven was one kind of coward or another to his way of thinking. Otherwise, they would be here with them. Not sending Kai with a bunch of incompetent kids to do their dirty work.

"No offence, but why isn't your dad here?" Adam asked.

Kai looked around and saw Jo was the only halfway decent person there. Well almost, he liked Faye well enough. She was a good lay. He hadn't moped around after Bonnie ditched him for Kol. He knew that particular problem would take care of itself soon. After all, witches and vampires - it never ended well.

But the rest of the New England refugees? He could do without them.

"He's probably hoping I kick the bucket," Kai said plunking his feet on the coffee table.

"Why?" Cassie said with a direct stare he didn't like.

He'd liked it better before she had taken up with Nick. Now that she was dating the warlock she had this whole confidence thing going that irked Kai.

"Don't you get it?" Kai said in a falsely cheery voice. "Then again you aren't the sharpest tool in the shed."

Kai laughed as several other coven members rushed to defend Cassie, his sister included.

"Cassie is not stupid!"

"Kai! You can't talk to people like that!"

"Over the line, buddy!" this from Adam.

God, was his good guy routine ever boring. And so was his boring girlfriend Diana, who was trying and failing to console Cassie. The thing Diana failed to see, Cassie was different now. She wasn't hurt or putting on a brave face, she was pissed off.

And good for her, Kai thought. Now if only she would leave him the hell alone.

"One more word about Cassie and we're going to have a problem," Nick growled.

Kai let his eyes slide right over Nick like he wasn't even there before he refocused his attention on Cassie.

"See if me or Jo or both of us bite the dust then dad doesn't have to worry about a siphoner being his replacement. Instead, he'll have another twenty years as our evil overlord while waiting for the next set of twins to reach twenty-two."

It was also a convenient way for Joshua to welch on his deal with Kai. The deal was if he did what was asked of him and honored the deal with the Bennetts then a year from now, Kai and Jo could merge. Three whole years before their actual merge. And Kai had been expecting attempts on his life ever since then. But he hadn't figured they would start until after Bonnie joined their coven. After all, Joshua lusted after the power a Bennett would bring them. But with Bonnie going AWOL and shacking up with an Original all bets were off.

"Kai, we get it, dad's a psycho," Jo said with a roll of her eyes. "But that doesn't mean he is always plotting how to get at you."

"Doesn't it?" Kai raised his eyebrows at her. "Wow, sissy you're dumber than you look."

"Spare us the daddy issues," Faye said with an exaggerated yawn. "What's the plan? And where are the Original vampires?"

"At another hotel," Jo said.

"With my cousin and her grandmother," Celestia said with a frown.

Kai had no idea what that look was supposed to mean. Maybe she was worried about Bonnie and Sheila with the vampires? But he didn't get why. It wasn't like Bonnie and Celestia were close. He had seen them talk maybe once since Bonnie came to Portland. And even Bonnie wouldn't get attached after two minutes. No matter how much she loved feelings and all that crap.

"Dad didn't think it was a good idea to stay with them," Jo said. "If this Klaus guy gets wind of what they are planning, we are probably safer the further away from them we are. So see Kai, he isn't trying to get you killed."  
"Or he's doing a really crappy job," Kai said cheerily. "Either way, we don't have anywhere to be until Elijah or Eli or whatever his name is tells us to move."

"You're in contact with him, right?" Jo said.

"Yup, don't worry sissy. Everything is under control."

Kai got up and went to look for something eat. He'd had about all he could take of his coven on an empty stomach.

XXX

The next morning, Bonnie woke before Kol. She wasn't surprised for a vampire, he was a heavy sleeper. She put on a robe and went to Elena's room. Her friend was across the hallway from Finn and Elijah's rooms.

Bonnie raised her hand to knock and a few minutes later, Elena answered. She was scowling until she saw it was Bonnie then she broke into a bright smile and hugged her.

"Lena, I've missed you."

Bonnie broke the hug and walked past Elena. She sat down on the couch. Elena's room was as nice as the one she was sharing with Kol.

"I have missed you so much," Elena said still grinning. "Want some coffee?"

"Love some," Bonnie said returning the smile.

Elena fixed them each a cup of coffee from the machine in the room.

"This is a nice hotel," Elena commented as she waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

"I know right? Too bad we're on a mission."

"Tell me about it. Just the thought of being bait makes me sick to my stomach."

"For the record, I have been against this plan from the start. I just got outvoted."

"I know that."

Elena sat down and passed Bonnie her mug. The coffee felt great. She had always been an early riser, but after the late night she'd had with Kol (he insisted they watch a movie and then talk for like three hours, his life was fairly interesting actually), she could use the caffeine.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it," Elena said.

"Why didn't you run? I mean you must have had plenty of chances."

Elena stared at her coffee cup for a while before answering. "Elijah told me what Klaus wants to do so running seems pointless. This seems like my best chance to get away."

"I still don't trust Katherine."

"Neither do I, but Elijah is going to be there the whole time."

Bonnie's mouth popped open. "Oh my God, you trust him. You like him!"

"I don't," Elena said blushing and Bonnie gave her a pointed look. "Okay, so maybe I have a tiny crush, but I love Stefan. And I'm not over him."

"You're a normal human, Elena. You should stay away from vampires," Bonnie said aware it probably made her sound like a hypocrite. But Elena had a chance at a normal life something Bonnie as a witch, didn't have.

"You're up to your elbows in vampire business from what I can tell."

"I'm a witch. The whole supernatural gig? My heritage and life sentence."

Elena grimaced. "Guess that's true. By the way, the Elijah thing? So not going to happen even if I had wanted it to. Him and Katherine are a couple."

"No way. They had a thing like five hundred years ago and Kol would have told me."

"I don't think he knows, but I heard him and Katherine one night, I had to take a midnight shower with the music blasting just to block the noise out," Elena said wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Oh my God. Gross. And Elijah, I mean really? He seems so formal, I can't really imagine him getting freaky."

Elena laughed. "I was shocked too," she looked back down at her coffee cup before something seemed to dawn on her. "What do you mean Kol would have told you?"

Bonnie grimaced and then decided to tell Elena everything. She told her all about Kol and Kai. And honestly, it was such a relief to have it off her chest, she sagged back into the couch.

Elena just stared at her in horrified silence for the longest time.

"This is crazy," Elena said. "How can you want to be with either of them?"

"You're with Stefan sort of, how is this any different?"

"Stefan isn't a cold blooded killer."

"You have got to be kidding me," Bonnie said with frost in her voice. "He's a vampire. I can promise you he has killed people and liked it in the past. And if you don't believe me, why don't you go ask Rebekah? She used to go out with him."

"No, she didn't. Stefan wouldn't date such a bitch."

"Rebekah is actually pretty nice," Bonnie said getting angry on Rebekah's behalf. "And why would she lie?"

"I don't know because she is crazy like the rest of her family."

"Just two seconds ago you told me you had a crush on Elijah. Why is this different?"

"And you told me to stay away from him."

"So you could have a normal life. But by all means, go for it. Get into a relationship where you totally helpless, suit yourself," Bonnie snorted. "But don't come crying to me for a rescue when you get turned into a vampire."

Bonnie was aware she sounded like Kai, but she wasn't able to stop herself. Elena needed to hear this. Needed to hear that hanging out with vampires when she had other options was going to result in her death, one way or the other. Vampires and humans – Kol had told it always ended in murder, pain or the human turning into a vampire. It was no fairy tale and either way, Bonnie looked at it, she saw only darkness for Elena if she went down that path.

"And Elijah is different."

"Is he?" Bonnie demanded. "Or is he just different because you like him? Because from where I stand, he's just like the rest of his siblings except with better manners."

Elena gasped and crossed her arms. Her expression was hurt and Bonnie was too angry to care. Elena had it coming.

Judging her? What the hell did Elena know about what she had been through these past few months? Sure, she'd heard the story, but hearing about it over morning coffee was very different than living it.

"What about Kai? He's a sociopath!"

"He's also a teenager," Bonnie mumbled. "And I was stupid to trust him because look what he did to me."

"What he didn't stand up to his dad for you? What did you expect?"

"You're blaming me?"

"No," Elena said sanctimoniously. "I'm just saying what did you think would happen? These Geminis are clearly crazy and you just barge on in and break every rule they have?"

"I broke one rule," Bonnie said her eyes narrowing. "And it was my Grams' rule not the Geminis'. And you have no idea what it's been like."

"I was kidnapped."

"And you spent the past two months in Elijah's private mansion with servants. Meanwhile, Elijah made everyone in town forget about your absence and when you go back to school? Your grades will still be fine, your friends will think you've been on vacation and you can pick right up where you left off. Me? I don't get to go home, ever. Oh wait, I can go back, if I want to die. So yeah, please tell me again how rough it's been for you."

"I lost Stefan."

"And if the Mikaelsons hadn't shown up when they did, I would have lost my Grams trying to get him back. But hey, who cares as long as you have your killer boyfriend back? But God forbid I need you to understand what I've been through."

Bonnie stormed out while Elena was still sputtering, trying to formulate a reply.

In the hallway, she ran straight into Kol.

"Hold up, little witch. Where's the fire?"

Kol put his hands on her shoulders and held at arm's length. His expression was amused and his eyes danced with mischief.

"Move."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just fought with Elena and I don't want to talk about it."

"I thought I heard a row."

Kol cupped her face in both hands. He kissed her gently on the lips.

"I need to shower."

Bonnie brushed past him and hurried back to her room. Elena was right about one thing, trusting Kol the way she had Kai was only going to lead her down the same path. She had spent so much of her time with him, he had lulled her into a false sense of security. It had allowed her to forget the harsh lesson Kai had taught her and that was one lesson, she was never going to forget.

XXX

Later that evening, Kol was going over the plan with the witches and the other vampires. He was still worried about Bonnie. She was sitting next to him at the table. They were in a private room in the hotel restaurant, it was the only place large enough to fit all of them. The witches and warlocks had arrived while cloaked and Sheila had spelled the room so that no one could eavesdrop.

The plan was going well, but Bonnie still wasn't talking. She had been quiet and moody ever since her argument with the doppelganger. It shouldn't have upset him because he knew it wasn't his business, but he couldn't help it. The little witch had come to mean a great deal to him in these past few months. He was even toying with the idea of turning her, if only he could be sure she wouldn't set him on fire for the mere suggestion.

Then there was Kai, who kept shooting him murderous glances when no one was looking.

"Are we all in agreement?" Elijah said. "Everyone will be in position, two hours from now?"

There were nods and choruses of agreement all around the table.

Once they all left, Kol turned to Bonnie. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Well I am," she growled. "Now let's go."

Kol held his hand out to her and helped her out of her seat. When they walked out of the private room, they stumbled onto Kai. Who was leaning against the door and the privacy spell had ended. That explained the amused smirk, but his eyes were cold. Kol could still see the murderous rage in them and he was reminded of the stake Kai possessed. The same one that could kill an Original.

"What have we here?" Kai cocked his head to the side. "Trouble in paradise? Hey, Bunny figured out why vampires and witches don't mix yet?"

"Leave me alone," Bonnie muttered and shoved her way past him.

"You lift as much as a finger toward her or any of my family and you are dead, Malachai," Kol growled.

"Oooh scary," he faked shuddered. "Did you forget what I have?"

"Perhaps I simply snap your spine and leave you for dead. Do you think your father would seek retribution?" Kol asked.

Kai stared back at him in stony silence. That was answer enough for Kol.

"I didn't think so," Kol said in a cold voice. "With my good hearing, I have learned a few things. Such as how your father sees you. The abomination. Doubtful he'd miss you. And he already has your replacements lined up."

Kai's expression was murderous. Kol grinned and followed Bonnie.

XXX

Bonnie was cloaked along with Kol and Rebekah. Nearby, Sheila and Finn were cloaked. The young members of the Gemini coven were cloaked and in the room as well, but it didn't make her feel better about this. She had this nagging feeling tonight was a mistake. Something was going to go wrong, she felt it in her bones.

The open layout of the hotel's ballroom didn't help. Even cloaked she felt too exposed and too vulnerable, but Elijah had argued Klaus would only agree to a meeting place if it was out in the open, neutral territory. Bonnie failed to see how New York qualified as neutral territory when Klaus lived here, but whatever. It was too late to back out of this suicide mission, so she might as well see it through.

Elijah, Katherine and Elena were standing in the center of the room, waiting for Klaus to arrive. Everyone was and the atmosphere was tense. Except you'd never to know it to look at Kol, he was leaning casually against the wall. Every now and then he would catch her eye and wink.

Stupid unkillable vampires. Always so fucking calm.

Bonnie was ready to crawl out of her skin with anxiety by the time Klaus arrived. He strode into the room wearing an expensive suit and smiling cheerily.

"Everyone here? Fantastic," Klaus announced as he strode in to the room like he owned the place.

Bonnie's heart nearly stopped beating when she saw he wasn't alone. Klaus had nearly ten vampires with him. She could feel their energy and she knew instantly what they were. He also had a witch with him. At least Bonnie assumed she was a witch. She was a young girl, couldn't be any older than Bonnie and she didn't give off the same aura as a vampire. And there was no way Klaus would bring a human girl into this.

"He brought backup," Bonnie said.

But her comment was completely unnecessary. Kol was on his feet. He stood next to her and his whole posture had changed. He gave off an air of danger now where previously he had come across as careless.

"Stay behind me, little witch."

"Oh my God, get over her. She can take care of herself," Rebekah drawled.

Bonnie shot her a nasty look.

"Bekah," Kol growled.

"Oh, honestly," Rebekah huffed. "You keep saying she is a powerful witch and she is Ayanna's descendant. I am more concerned about some of the Geminis than I am Bonnie."

"I think there was a compliment somewhere in there," Bonnie muttered.

Rebekah looked like she was about to reply, but the situation with Klaus demanded their attention.

"Brother, Katerina and this must be Elena," Klaus said giving Bonnie a wolfish smile.

Werewolves, vampire werewolf hybrids. Was there anything that wasn't real? Bonnie wondered.

"Yes, Niklaus," Elijah said in a measured tone of voice.

"Since I'm handing you the latest the doppelganger, who by the way is way less fun than I am, I am free to go, right?" Katherine said with lazy arrogance.

But Bonnie thought she heard just a hint of fear underneath Katherine's cavalier tone of voice.

"That was the deal you seduced my fool brother into making, was it not?" Klaus growled.

"Niklaus," Elijah said in warning tones.

Klaus moved toward Elena. On instinct, Bonnie started forward and Kol caught her wrist. He shook his head.

"Wait for Elijah's signal."

Bonnie ground her teeth. All of this waiting was putting her on edge. But she knew Kol was right. If she attacked now, everyone else would be thrown off and people would get hurt.

"Why so glum, brother?" Klaus said arrogantly, he even smirked.

Was there a member of the Mikaelson family that didn't smirk?

"Why do you think?"

"Just hand over the girl, Elijah and we can all be on our merry way. You can get back to your tart and I can become the person, I was always meant to be."

Elijah coughed. That was the signal.

What happened next happened in the blink of an eye. The Originals surged forward. The cloaking spell came off and Bonnie saw the other witches, who helped flank them.

Immediately, Bonnie went after the young witch.

"MOTUS!"

The girl hit the wall with an awful 'thwack' sound and didn't get back up. Bonnie only had a second to hope, she was only blacked out and not dead when a vampire attacked her. He flew at her in the less than a second. She was knocked to the floor and the air vacated her lungs. She wanted to scream, but all that came out was an awful, hoarse gasp.

The vampire sunk his fangs into her throat. The pain was excruciating. She forgot all about her magic. Instead, she lashed out with everything she had. She kicked, she punched, she screamed and it did no good. The vampire hardly noticed she was fighting back.

XXX

Kai was in the middle of protecting that old dude, Finn or Fredrik or something like that. He was going for Klaus and Kai knew he needed a clean shot at the hybrid. There were two vampires circling Klaus like guards. Kai was going to take them out for Finn or Flan or whatever when a female scream, he recognized pierced his ears.

Bonnie was on the ground. Some blond vampire was sinking his teeth into her neck. Kai cursed, Bonnie wasn't his responsibility anymore, she had made that perfectly clear. So why did his chest tighten at the thought of Bonnie disappearing from the world?

But she had chosen Kol. Where was Kol?

He growled when he saw Kol was preoccupied with a witch of his own. The witch was throwing every spell in her power at Kol and he kept dodging the spells using his speed. But the witch was good, Kai had to hand it to her. She kept Kol at bay and he couldn't get any closer than he already was.

Knowing it could full well cost them the battle, Kai ran to Bonnie's rescue. He threw his hand up, aiming at the vampire.

"MOTUS!"

He hit the wall. And Kai threw his stake, using his magic (or Jo's magic, but who cared it was his now), he threw it through the vampire's heart. It went straight through and the vampire fell over dead. Doing that thing where they turned grey.

Bonnie was sitting up, holding her bleeding neck in her hand. Kai kicking himself already for acting like he had feelings ran to her side. But no matter how it made him look, he was unable to resist.

He kneeled by her side.

"Go away," Bonnie said glowering and swatting at him.

Kai rolled his eyes. "So dramatic, Bunny. I came to help."

He caught her hand the next time she tried to swat him and healed the wound. It was almost closed when he went sailing through the air.

XXX

Bonnie gasped when a vampire through Kai into the wall. A quick look around told her Klaus had backup. A lot of it. The vampires came swarming into the room like locusts. Half of her was tempted to go after Kai, but she had bigger problems.

The vampire that had attacked Kai had now turned his attention to her.

"Well hello, cutie."

He reached for her and she didn't think, she just lit him on fire. He went up in smoke. She was on her feet and started throwing vampires around. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw Kai was back on his feet too. He was stalking forward, using his magic to pin vampires down and stake them.

Knowing it wasn't really her problem, but since they were on the same team, she mentally vowed to keep an eye on him. If he ran out of siphoned magic then he was dead.

Before she quite knew what had happened, she was on the front lines. There was just one row of vampires between her and Klaus. Rebekah zipped up next to her along with Finn.

"Having fun?" Rebekah crooned.

The blonde's fangs were out and she was covered in blood. She grinned and tossed her head proudly. Finn on the other hand, did not look like this was his idea of a party. And she appreciated that at least one other person wasn't enjoying the carnage. Because another involuntary glance back at Kai told her he was having the time of his life. But at least he still had magic so she turned her attention back to Klaus.

Rebekah and Finn bulldozed their way past the vampires. Klaus roared and tried to launch himself at them. Bonnie acted without thinking, she used her magic to pin him to the wall.

"NOW!" she screamed.

Her hands were raised high and she could feel her magic waning. It was rushing out of her like water. She had cast a lot of spells and it was starting to wear her down. She hunched forward, forcing the magic out of her and tried to hold the spell.

It wasn't easy. Klaus was an ancient vampire and he was powerful. She could feel him struggling against the magic. Her magic was draining fighting his vampire side and even his supposedly dormant werewolf side was fighting back. It was taking its toll.

Bonnie screamed and threw her magic at Klaus.

"GET THE DAGGER!" Bonnie yelled at Rebekah.

Except Finn was on his back and that witch girl had him pinned with his magic. Rebekah threw herself at the girl and the spell broke.

Finn was on his feet and charging toward Klaus.

Blood hit the floor and still she kept casting. She fell to her knees, her body was exhausted, but they were so close. She just needed to hang on a few more seconds.

Finn raised the dagger and ran it through Klaus' chest. The hybrid turned grey and crumpled to the floor.

Bonnie collapsed on the floor herself. She caught herself with her hands. She was breathing heavily. The fighting had mostly stopped, Klaus' followers scurried away like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

But she could still hear the sounds of a fight. Magic being thrown around and a growling noise. Bonnie looked behind her and saw Kai was attacking Kol.

With his magic, Kai was at an advantage and he had a stake.

"Is that what I think it is?" Finn said to Rebekah, but the blonde was already gone.

She tried to get to Kai, but the Geminis held her off. They threw their collective power into the attack, working as a team to keep Rebekah at bay while Kai went after Kol.

Elijah was out cold and Katherine was slapping him, trying to wake him. Elena was on the floor, bleeding form a headwound. Sheila was winded, but on her feet.

Finn threw himself into the fight between Kai and Kol, but like his sister, the Geminis stopped him.

Belatedly, Bonnie realized they were protecting Kai. They had no idea what he was trying to do or even if he could succeed yet it didn't matter. He was a part of their coven and coven members protected each other no matter the circumstances.

Kai finally had Kol pinned down with what had to be the last of his magic. He was leaning over him with his stake raised.

Elena still wasn't moving and Bonnie hesitated.

 **Thank you to all the beautiful, wonderful people, who continue to read and support this fic! You are all incredible! I'd say I'm sorry for the cliffhanger, but by now you all know me too well for that. I'm evil etc. Let me know what you thought of this chapter and the cliffhanger. I know a lot of you are frustrated with Bonnie's "hard-on" for Elena (to borrow a phrase from a reviewer because I love it), that's pretty much Bonnie's entire personality in canon so ofc she is going to do stupid shit in fanon as well.**

 **I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to stay in the loop or submit a bonkai or kennett drabble request.**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Thank you! I agree Joshua is an ass, but yes, there will be bonbekah bonding moments. Even if they might be few and far between.**

 **Guest: Happy to hear it's a great fic and sorry about the wait. I usually update Thursday, but it might be every other week. I'm working a lot of overtime since I returned from my roadtrip.**

 **Bellavida0213: Bless you for being one of those people who comment on every chapter! I love it! Yup, Joshua totally wants Kai to die in the merge and Kai has his reasons for betraying Bonnie, but I'm not sure I would call them good? You can judge for yourself in a future chapters.**


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

 ***Disclaimer because it's been a while: I don't own TVD or Secret Circle***

Elena was still not moving and Bonnie hesitated. Her friend looked like she was in serious trouble, but Kai was already lowering his arm, the stake in his hands. Kol was trapped. And Sheila would never raise a finger to protect Kol, Bonnie knew that for a fact.

The hesitation only lasted a second.

"MOTUS!"

Bonnie waved her arm. It was the last of her magic and she only hoped it was enough. Kai hit the ground a few feet from Kol. It wasn't nearly as far as she could have thrown him before the battle, but Bonnie noticed the other witches were starting to wear down along with her.

"Kai," Jo ran to him and grabbed his arm. "We need to get out of here."

Kai struggled to his feet and the witches and warlocks disappeared. They teleported away before the vampires could catch them. Rebekah nearly caught Cassie, but she disappeared.

Bonnie fell back on her hands and breathed easier. Sheila came to her and put her arms around her.

"Oh, child," Sheila breathed caressing her face. "You'll be alright."

"I know. Is Kol okay?"

"The vampire is fine," Sheila replied with a glower.

Bonnie looked over in time to see Kol pocketing the stake Kai had tried to use on him.

"Why do you get to keep it?" Rebekah pouted.

"Because I was nearly killed by it twice, sister dear."

"Where should we store Niklaus?" Finn asked.

Elijah was getting to his feet. He looked over at Klaus and for a second, his expression registered sorrow before becoming neutral again. Bonnie just hoped Elijah knew better than to take that dagger out because getting it in had not been easy.

"I have an idea," Sheila said. "How about we stick him in the vampire crypt?"

"The one you nearly died opening? Brilliant idea," Kol snorted.

"I'd say we bring the Geminis in on that, but Bonnie's boyfriend just blew that option," Katherine purred. "Wake up, Boring Me."

Katherine gave Elena a good kick.

"Knock it off," Bonnie snapped.

But that was all she could do to protect Elena. She couldn't move and she felt a sense of relief when Kol sat down next to her.

"Alright there, little witch?"

"Yeah, I will be."

"Come along then."

Kol picked her up and she hung in his arms. Grateful, she didn't have to walk just yet. Tonight had tested the limits of her powers. She doubted the Gemini coven was fairing a whole lot better, but they had been strong enough to teleport away. Something, she couldn't even imagine doing at the moment. Covens, they made witches and warlocks stronger, she knew that was why most witches joined one at some point or another.

"Wait," Bonnie said when Kol started to walk away. "Is Elena alright?"

"Very well then."

Kol took her over to Elena. She sat down on the floor next to Elena. Elijah was there as well.

"She is breathing, but unconscious. I'll heal her."

Elijah's vampire face appeared. He bit into his wrist and pressed it to Elena's mouth. Slowly, her color started returning and the cut on her head healed.

Elena blinked and looked over at Bonnie in confusion.

"What happened?"

Bonnie grinned and hugged her friend. It had been a close call, but it didn't matter. They had done what they set out to and all of her friends were alive.

XXX

Kai was back at the house with the rest of his teen coven. And he was in an even worse mood than he had been in before tonight. For a guy that had been past cranky for two months now that was saying something. For a budding sociopath, it was dangerous.

Well dangerous for those around him, he amended with a sinister smile.

When Jo cornered him, furious with him, she had no idea the monster she was poking.

"What the hell were you thinking, Kai? Going after Kol like that? You could have gotten us all killed."

Kai stared at his twin and for the first time since he could remember, he thought of actually killing her. Funny, Jo used to be the one person he couldn't imagine himself hurting. And now? Now he was tempted.

"What was I thinking?" he snickered. "I thought it was obvious. If you used your noggin every now and then, sissy you would be so much better off."

"What the actual fuck were you thinking?" Jo said and stomped her foot.

But she was exhausted from having pushed her magic to the limits so she sat down. Kai, who had not been using his own magic had no such problems. And he had fury and rage coursing through him, keeping him on his feet. And Jo had gone too far. Chewing him out, blaming him for something Kol had coming.

"He stole my girl so I thought I'd steal his life," Kai said with clenched fists.

"Oh Kai," Jo sighed and gave him a sympathetic look that made him want to kill her all over again. "I'm sorry about, Bonnie. Have you tried talking to her?"

"Only about a million times."

Kai sat down next to her and hung his head. Jo put her arm through his and put her head on his shoulder.

"You're a total psycho, but you're actually feeling something. I didn't think that was possible. I think it means you're owning up to your behavior."

Kai really hated it when Jo did that. Acted like this was his fault. Like whatever was wrong with him, sociopath or not this thing his father had turned him into. If he didn't need Jo to merge then there was the very real possibility, she wouldn't make it to her next birthday let alone her twenty-second.

"Sissy, you are skating on thin ice," he growled.

"Can't kill me."

"But I can make you wish you were dead," Kai said cheerily.

"Whatever. Look, have you ever considered moving on?"

"Moving on?"

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes. "It's a thing you do after a break up or a sort of break up in your case."

Jo just didn't get it. He didn't feel things, he didn't care about people, but he had felt – well something for Bonnie. He didn't really get it himself, but he liked talking to her, he really, _really_ liked touching her and he found he never had the urge to kill her. What all that spelled up to, he had no idea.

But he knew he wanted her back.

Kai usually classified people as useful or useless. Bonnie fell into the first category, but it wasn't just that he lost his shot at an early leadership. It was her. He wanted to talk to her and hang out with her. So he figured, he liked the girl. He thought about her all of the time, which he was aware counted as an obsession. He also knew obsession and sociopaths rarely mixed, but he felt less crazy with her around.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because you're actually hot or so the other girls tell me and you could have pretty much any girl you want if you just show the other girls the guy you showed Bonnie."

Kai felt more homicidal toward Kol than before. He wanted Bonnie back. She was the one he liked. Every other girl out there was either annoying or boring. But Bonnie? She was a challenge and somehow, she made what should have been frustrating, hot.

Hence his current obsession.

"That guy only shows up around Bonnie. Everyone else? They kinda just tick me off."

Jo squeezed his arm sympathetically. "The Kol thing won't last long. Vampires and witches usually don't."

"Unless he turns her."

That was a fear that started to plague Kai more and more as time passed. His dreams and fantasies about him and Bonnie reuniting were turning into nightmares where she was a vampire.

XXX

After the big battle Bonnie had a bath. She nearly dozed off, woke up and decided now was a good time to get out before she drowned.

She put on a robe and climbed into bed. Kol wasn't back yet. He was helping his siblings store Klaus somewhere. Bonnie had been tempted to go find Elena, but she hadn't apologized after their fight this morning. And even though Bonnie would be crushed if anything happened her, she also wasn't ready to forgive Elena.

Their truce had only lasted until the initial relief of having won the battle wore off. Then they had each given each other a meaningful look and known, neither one was ready to forgive. Bonnie had walked away then. Kol had helped her back to the room.

She was half asleep when Kol finally got into bed with her. And the feel of his warm body against hers woke something inside of her. She climbed onto his lap and kissed him. She stroked his cheek and played with his hair.

"I am so happy you are alright," she said. "But what was with the stake earlier? Your siblings seemed really freaked out about it."

Kol sighed and his fingers played along her spine.

"If I tell you, you have to promise to keep it a secret, little witch."

"I won't tell anyone."

"The Geminis have a stake that can kill me."

"How is that possible? And what kind of stake?"

"It was from a tree in Mystic Falls. It was ash oak and it only grew in that region. Once we realized it could harm us, we destroyed it. We destroyed all the trees. Somehow the Geminis must have found a tree and made one."

"Oh my God," Bonnie breathed. "You could have died today."

"Thanks to you, I'm fine."

Bonnie kissed him. It was a desperate kiss, filled with need. She tangled her fingers into his hair and pressed herself closer. She needed him close, needed to feel that he was alive and that he was close to her.

That same desperate need made heat flare up in her. Kol's hands roamed all over her and she moaned when his hand kneaded her bum. She could feel his growing hardness pressing against her core. She rocked into him and he moaned.

Without thinking, Bonnie pulled her T-shirt off. She broke the kiss just long enough to remove it. Kol's eyes went dark with lust. In the next instant, he was kissing her neck. Hot open-mouthed kisses that made gasp for breath. She threw her head back and her fingers went back to his hair, bringing him closer.

But it still wasn't close enough. After today, nothing could be close enough. As much as she tried to convince herself, her feelings for Kol were superficial, deep down she knew she was lying to herself. Kol was her best friend and her boyfriend. And she cared about him, no matter how stupid that made her. Just the thought of losing him was unbearable.

Kol kissed his way down her neck and to her chest. His one hand massaged her breast, thumb playing with her nipple. His mouth was on her other breast, ravaging it. Heat coursed through her and a thin sheen of sweat was starting to trickle down her forehead. She ground into his hardness and mewled when she felt his stiff length.

Stars were dancing in front of her eyes. Kol's rough hand slipped inside of her pajama shorts. She felt his fingers caress her and she moaned. He raised his head to whisper in her ear.

"Is this alright?" he murmured.

His tongue circled her earlobe. She tugged on his hair and he groaned before chuckling. When he laughed his breath fanned her skin and she shivered in response.

"Yes," she breathed.

That was all the encouragement Kol needed. His hand slid further down. He ran his finger along her slit and she moaned. She threw her head back, rocking into his hand, needing more, needing desperately to be closer. She could feel his smile against the crook of her neck.

He pushed a teasing finger inside of her and curled it. She mewled and pushed herself further down. His thumb played with her clit. Moans tumbled out of her lips and she couldn't believe those noises were coming from her.

Kol kept going adding two more fingers, not giving her time to adjust. She rode his fingers and a tightening began low in her stomach. It grew stronger and stronger until she came with a scream. Colors danced behind her eyelids and her whole body trembled. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body.

She collapsed against Kol. He wrapped his arms around her and she sighed in content. But one caress from him and her exhaustion was burned away. That same desperate hunger to be close, overcame her again. She reached for him and pulled him onto her. The kiss was raw and desperate, there was none of his usual refined technique. It was purely animalistic.

Abruptly, he broke away. He turned her on her back in one of those lightning fast moves vampires used. His smile was wicked and her toes curled in anticipation. He captured her lips drawing her into another passionate kiss. One that had her pulling away and gasping for breath within seconds. She used her feet to push down his pants. Kol flashed another wicked smile that made her stomach do summersaults.

"Are you certain this is alright?" he murmured against her lips. His breath fanned her face and she shivered, pressing herself closer.

"Yes, you almost died today," her fingers stroked his face. "We both did and I just want to be close to you."

He nipped playfully at her bottom lip, making her giggle.

"I like the way you think, little witch."

Kol rang a finger along her slit and she moaned, making sure she was damp.

She moaned. "Don't stop."

Kol chuckled and gave her one of his arrogant smirks, which made her roll his eyes. He kissed her gently on the lips. It was a soft lingering kiss filled with unsaid emotions. But gentle wasn't what she wanted. She clawed her fingers down his back to show him. He growled in pain then chuckled.

"You're an animal, little witch. I love it."

He pushed his hard length inside of her and she whimpered. It had been a long time for her and he was bigger than the last man she had been with. He paused giving her time to adjust when he filled her to the hilt. A whimper escaped her lips when she felt how he stretched her.

"Kol," she gasped.

"Still alright?" his voice was rough with need.

"Yeah."

To show him just how fine she was, she grabbed a fistful of his hair. She pulled his face down to hers. She nipped at his bottom lip.

"Violent, little witch."

Kol started to move. He sat a slow pace and she moved her hips in time with his. She rocked her body into his falling into the same rhythm easily. Slowly, warmth started to build inside of her again. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, clinging to him. His hands roamed her body, exploring every inch of her.

The only sounds that could be heard were of skin on skin and their breathing. Bonnie threw her head back, closing her eyes. She moaned when Kol picked up the pace, driving harder and faster into her. She wrapped her legs more securely around his hips. His head fell in the nape of her neck.

Kol flipped their position. She cried out and giggled. She landed on his chest and grinned at him.

"You play rough."

"Vampire," he flashed a wicked smile.

That smile it turned her insides to jelly. Kol's hand went to the nape of her neck and he pulled her down to him. He kissed her and it was a hard, needy kiss that stole her breath. His other hand went to her hip, spurring her to move with him. She rode him and tried to sit up for a better angle, one where she had more control, but he kept her pinned to him.

This way, Kol was setting the rhythm. He was driving up into her at a faster pace than before. Each time their hips collided it was so hard, her whole body shook and rattled. That only made him hold her tighter, he was still kissing her and she moaned against his mouth.

She could feel that same quivering as before start low in her stomach. It built and the she got wound tighter and tighter. Her fingernails dug tightly into Kol's shoulders as she threw her head back. She broke the kiss and screamed when she shattered. She closed her eyes and pulled on her own hair. Colors danced behind her eyelids.

She collapsed against Kol's chest, she heard him chuckle and kiss the top of her head. His hands roamed her body hungrily. He gave her a moment to catch her breath.

Kol guided her to her hands and knees. He put his hands on her hips and buried himself to the hilt. She gasped from this angle, he was hitting that deepest point inside of her. She gripped the sheets and cried out.

His hands on her hips were almost painful and he stretched out in a way that was just this side of pain. She gasped and arched her back leaning forward and pressing herself back to meet his thrusts.

Kol moved faster and faster, pounding into her hard and fast. She screamed and moaned, writhing against him as he used what must be vampire speed or close to it. Kol's groans filled her ears. Heat sparked all over her body and toes curled. The noises she was making were feral and she didn't recognize them as her own.

His hand slapped her bum and she cried out. She came with a scream, shattering as he continued to thrust into her. The lights flickered and went out. She heard a loud crack and followed the noise with her eyes. The door to the bathroom was open and she saw she had cracked the bathroom mirror. It had split, cracking and breaking in the shape of a spider web.

"You're incredible," Kol grunted.

He thrust into her harder and she cried out. Colors danced behind her eyelids and she tore into the sheets. Her walls tightened around him, spurring him to follow her over the edge.

They collapsed in a sweaty, exhausted heap. Kol put his head on her chest and sighed in content. His arms went around her waist and her fingers played with his hair.

"That was worth the wait, little witch," he said with a warm laugh.

Bonnie blushed and tugged on his hair. He peeked an eye open and cracked a lazy smile that made heat pool low in her stomach. Kol made a show of closing his eyes and relaxing as if he were going to sleep.

She took advantage of his distraction to admire him. She didn't often catch Kol off guard or unaware, which meant she never got to enjoy just looking at him because she didn't want to stroke his ego. He was already as arrogant as ten men, he didn't need any encouragement.

Kol's hair was longer now than it had been when she first met him. It was a little shaggy, falling in his eyes, but it suited him. His cheekbones were high and well-sculpted, she traced her fingers teasingly along them. He was tall and lean, but well-muscled. His shoulders were nice, she liked looking at them and she caressed his cheek. Warmth filled her just looking at him.

XXX

The next morning, Bonnie slept until noon. She only woke because Kol kissed her neck. She groaned and rolled over. She saw the clock on the nightstand and covered her face with a pillow. She and Kol had made love until the sun rose. By the time they were done, Bonnie could barely keep her eyes open, let alone keep up with Kol. So they had fallen asleep, sated and limbs entwined. And just thinking about it now got her blood flowing and she closed her eyes to keep herself under control.

Kol threw the pillow aside. He flashed a wicked smile that made her toes curl.

"Good morning, little witch."

Before she could respond, he was kissing her. It was a soft gentle kiss that took her breath away. She nipped playfully on her bottom lip and she ran her fingers through his hair. She turned her head away.

"We missed breakfast."

"Who cares?"

Kol's incisors nipped on her throat and she gasped. She could feel the playful bites he placed on her throat and she blushed, heat coursing through her. She massaged his scalp with her fingertips, wondering why he was so hyper-fixated on her throat all of the sudden.

"Uhm, Kol whatcha doing?" she said tentatively after a few more minutes of the throat thing.

He chuckled and his breath danced along the sensitive skin. She shivered and pressed herself into his warmth on instinct.

"You smell nice," he murmured his lips brushing her pulse line.

"Oh my God," she sat up and pushed him away. "You are thinking about biting me."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are," she pushed on his shoulder. "Admit it."

"Perhaps."

"Oh my God."

Embarrassed she covered her face with her hands and fell on her back. Kol lay down on his side and pulled her into his arms, her back against his front. He put his head on her shoulder. He was an excellent snuggler, she had to give him that. He was well-muscled and warm, and he always seemed to know just where to touch her.

"I'd never ask that of you."

"But you want to."

Bonnie didn't know why she was pushing the issue. It wasn't like she was volunteering.

Kol squeezed her tight.

"I do, but bloodsharing is an intimate act not unlike what we did last night."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not when it's done right. If it's for pleasure and because you care about someone, it's euphoric."

Bonnie turned around so she could look at him.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about. Have you bloodshared before? Or have you always just fed and killed?"

Kol's fingers played on her cheek.

"I've lived a long time."

"That's not an answer," she told him with mild exasperation.

"It's not."

He pecked her on the lips and she was not about to be distracted. She pulled away and touched her forehead to his. She closed her eyes and relaxed into him. When they were this close it was like they were sharing breath.

"Kol," she murmured, running her fingers along his chest playfully. "Tell me the truth."

"I've bloodshared in the past."

"But you don't want to do it with me."

Kol's fingers ran along her cheek, brushing her hair behind her ear. His fingers twined into her hair. It was an affectionate gesture that spread warmth everywhere he touched.

"I want to however, I don't think you are too keen on the idea."

"Maybe not," she chewed on her bottom lip. "It sounds kind of scary, but if we did, you wouldn't need to feed on anyone else, right?"

Kol groaned and rolled onto his back.

"What is it with you and sacrificing yourself for others?"

"I've just always been lie that. I have a soft spot for the innocent, the helpless and the injured."

"You're sweet." Kol pulled her into his arms and she snuggled against his side. He kissed the top of her head lightly. His hands roamed her back tracing patterns. "But you don't need to sacrifice yourself for everyone else. That's how you die in that prophecy."

Bonnie's curiosity was immediately peaked and she looked up at him.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning," he said with a rueful look at her. "If you aren't careful you could very well meet the same fate elsewhere simply due to your selfless nature."

"So the prophecy isn't set in stone?"

"No prophecy ever is, but some things remain the same. If you return to Mystic Falls sooner or later you will meet your death there, more than once."

"But then why do you care what I do elsewhere?"

"Because in that prophecy I saw a rather alarming pattern of behavior. I saw a beautiful, powerful young witch sacrificing everything she had until she had nothing to give except her life. And I'd rather that not happen to you, in any capacity."

"I like to help."

"All I'm saying is, a little selfishness is good for self-preservation, it doesn't make you a monster."

Bonnie huffed. She got up and started to get dressed. She didn't like what Kol was saying. He was basically telling her she was weak. He was saying she wasn't strong the way he and Kai were.

Kai, the thought of him was still painful. But after the way he had saved her life yesterday, it was also confusing. She had seen him moments before that vampire attacked her, he had a clear shot at taking out the vampires surrounding Klaus. Yet he had passed that up to save her life.

Why?

Why would a goal-oriented sociopath do that?

"You're saying I should be more like Kai."

"Hardly, I was thinking something in between the two of you. Have you heard of middle ground, little witch?"

Annoyed, Bonnie threw a pillow at him.

"C'mon, get up. I'm starving."

"What's the rush? Our flight back to Portland doesn't leave until tonight."

"Maybe we should stay here?"

"We can't. As much as I'd love to skip town with you, beautiful that would leave your grandmother in a dangerous position with the Geminis."

"Yeah, about that," Bonnie sat down on the bed and her eyes narrowed as she studied Kol. "What kind of deal did she make with Joshua?"

Kol shook his head. "I don't know. I only know there was a deal and that crossing the Geminis is dangerous business."

Bonnie tried to shake the feeling that Kol was lying to her, but she couldn't manage it. The idea clung to her like a paranoid voice whispering at the back of her mind. It was the same hunch that had been trying to tell her, the Mystic Falls coach was going to die. And she hadn't listened to that feeling then, she wasn't about to ignore this time around.

"I think you do know."

"I really don't."

"Fine," Bonnie hopped to her feet. "If you won't tell me, I'm going to eat with Rebekah and you can go to hell."

She walked out without a backward glance, not even when he called her name. She was sick to death of everyone keeping secrets from her. Kol, her Grams everyone. They had kept her exile to Portland under wrap and key, including the day she could leave for home (which was never apparently). Now this. They all claimed it was to protect her, but that was bullshit. She was too old to be coddled.

XXX

Kai was not happy to be back in Portland. He hadn't exactly been enjoying his time in New York, but at least it meant time away from home and his father.

Now, he was returned to his father's clutches. Fortunately, Jo and Cassie had persuaded the rest of the New England witches and warlocks to keep their mouths shut about Kai's attempted murder. He suspected they mostly succeeded because the New Englanders were not so loyal to Joshua after he murdered Sean.

Then there were those like Faye, who had no loyalty to anyone except themselves to begin with. She was keeping quiet because she was clever enough to know Joshua would not punish only Kai. He would make an example of anyone, who had not tried to stop him.

Not to say Joshua cared about the life of an Original vampire. Especially, not the one keeping the Bennett witch out of his grasp, but Joshua did not like disobedience or anything going down without his expressed permission.

So Kai was at the latest coven meeting on the Gemini compound. As usual Joshua had ordered the meeting take place in what had once been the throne room. It was a large circular room with a high ceiling.

The ceiling was glass and the sky was visible underneath it. When they were kids, Kai and Jo used to imagine they were at Hogwarts when they came in here. But instead of a cheery room filled with food and friendly witches and wizards, it was a cold room filled with a hostile and deadly coven.

At the front of the room there was a dais of sorts upon where Joshua had placed a throne. He was the coven leader in over a hundred years to bring back the throne and Kai was honestly surprised, he created a crown for himself while he was at it. The rest of the coven were seat at tables shaped in a horseshoe. It was a powerplay and Kai wondered how the coven elders resisted the temptation to curse Joshua and his pompous ways that elevated him above the rest of them.

Joshua was droning on about coven first this and coven first that. The coven elders nodded and murmured agreement in the right places like any of it was interesting. The younger members, the ones that had been in New York wore different expressions. Those expressions varied from shock to horror. Assuming Kai was reading them right.

But if their faces were anything to go by, Kai figured he better pay attention.

"Black John has indeed arrived in Portland," Joshua said. "Along with another alley, who can help secure that witches reign supreme for another two thousand years. Together, we will restore the balance and put an end to vampires once and for all."

That was actually halfway interesting.

The thing was, if this Black John was some kind of warlock possessing badass, why was he teaming up with the Geminis? It sounded to him like Black John would be out for their blood.

"What does he want in return?" Nick said getting to his feet.

The coven elders muttered and sent shocked and disapproving looks at Nick. Nick ignored them much to his credit. Kai was almost impressed. Then again, he'd noticed early on Nick wasn't easily bullied or pushed around, which was kind of dull from Kai's point of view.

When Nick had first joined the coven, Kai had thought Nick might be something of a friend. Like Kol, someone, he could go on rampages with. But Nick had shrugged off any attempts to join in darker fun. And Kai was left wondering if there was anyone, he could hang out with that wasn't a complete snoozefest.

Then Bonnie had arrived as if custom ordered for him. She wasn't a monster, but Kai found himself less interested in those things when she was around, which was mind-blowing all on its own. Let alone his actual feelings for her.

"Sit down," Joshua said raising his chin arrogantly.

"No," Cassie said joining him. "Black John decimated the adults in our community and he nearly killed us. That was before he got his hands on the crystal skull so what does he want?"

The other New England witches and warlocks were getting to their feet as well. Joshua's jaw ticked as he contemplated his next move or his next lie more likely. Kai assumed he wouldn't tell the coven the truth. Joshua much like Black John was no doubt working an angle that best served his own needs.

And Kai suspected he knew Joshua's game. Black John had been desperate to sink his hooks into the New England teen coven and Kai had been doing his reading. He suspected he knew what Black John wanted and what the purpose of the crystal skull was.

"Your attempts to purify the crystal skull may have been more successful than you think," Joshua said after a pause. "Apparently, it is no longer of use to him now that it's no longer a tool of dark magic."

That was definitely a lie. Kai knew the crystal skull had become so steeped in evil magic over the centuries there was no way that baby was coming clean. No matter how many purification rituals the New Englanders performed on it.

"It wasn't successful," Diana said.

"Our attempts to purify it nearly killed us," Adam said joining his girlfriend.

Typical, Kai thought.

"So what does Black John want in return for helping us end all vampires?" Nick said repeating his earlier question.

"That is a matter for your elders," Joshua snapped.

"Who is this alley?" Cassie asked.

Yup, Cassie was different alright.

"Mikael."

Kai stared at his Joshua in amazement. Black John was allied with the Mikael? As in the Original vampires' father?

In amazement he looked at Jo and saw she was as stunned as he was.

They had grimoires that mentioned Mikael. In the past, some of their ancestors had aided him. He was an Original vampire himself except he never fed from humans or witches. He hunted and ate vampires. Everywhere he went, the destruction of vampires followed.

And Kai would get Bonnie back. If Kol was dead – well then, he was back in the game.

"Perfect," Kai said with an evil smirk.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has stuck with this fic! We are nearing the end ish of it. I'm thinking forty chapters at the most, but we are heading into bonkai endgame so hold onto your hats! Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Are we digging kennett? Are we looking forward to bonkai? And what do we think about kai's confession to Jo?**

 **I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to stay in the loop about fic updates or send me a request for kennett/bonkai drabbles. To those of you, who have sent requests, I am working on them, but work is crazy. That said, I will publish them as soon as I can.**

 **Izzy**

 **Bellavida0213: Yes, Kai is crazy and I hope this didn't disappoint after the cliffhanger. Thank you so much for reviewing and reading, I always look forward to reading your thoughts!**

 **Guest: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Nope, I could never kill Kol. I love him and kennett way too much for that.**

 **AnaIsabel1: Thank you for reading and reviewing, it means the world to me! Thank you, that's a super helpful note for me to keep in mind when I'm writing!**


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20**

Bonnie was not a happy camper when she arrived back in Portland. She was still angry with Kol because he refused to tell her what kind of deal Sheila and Joshua had struck. But she had asked Rebekah, and she said she didn't know. Unlike Kol, Bonnie believed Rebekah.

Elena had gone back to Mystic Falls without another word to Bonnie. And Bonnie hadn't tried to patch things up with her. When she had needed her friend, Elena had judged her. She knew she had warned Elena to stay away from vampires, but that was different. Elena had a chance at a normal life and that was a gift. If only she could convince Elena of that.

Rebekah was right, betrayal was a part of life.

"What deal did you make with Joshua?" Bonnie demanded.

She was having lunch with Sheila at a café. Sheila glanced around and murmured a few words in Latin. The air around them shimmered in a sphere. Bonnie looked at it in amazement.

"It's a spell that will ensure we look as if we are having a normal conversation. And we won't be overheard."

"Why didn't you use this at the restaurant? Why did you use the burning sage?" Bonnie asked still amazed.

"Because I have heard rumors Kol likes to collect powerful witches and spells, I didn't want to teach him this one."

"Smart," Bonnie shrugged. "But he really doesn't seem that interested in my magic. He's never even asked me to do a spell for him."

"Not yet," Sheila said darkly. "But from what I hear you have saved his life twice already without his asking. From where I sit, you are already an exceptionally useful witch to him."

Bonnie shook her head. "I don't think he's like that."

"Lord, tell me you aren't sleeping with that bloodsucker."

Bonnie flushed.

"I'm not," she said evenly even though it was a bald faced lie. "But I get it. Kai warned me about Kol too before he went all psycho. So don't worry, I'm watching my back."

"Good."

"Now tell me about this deal."

"Before I do, I have to tell you how sorry I am. However, it was necessary for your survival."

Bonnie had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and every single instinct she had told her, this was not going to be good news.

"Oh my God. What did you do?"

"There was only one way Joshua would agree to take you in."

"Do I have to join his coven? Because I don't think you can promise that on my behalf."

"No, I can't and it's worse," Sheila's eyes welled up with tears. "Years ago, when you were a little girl, Abby and I brought you here to a gathering. Every seven years, the Geminis host a gathering for all the witches in North-America. Every coven shows up. Or used to as the years have waned, they all have either died off or joined the Geminis."

"Except us."

"Except us," Sheila said gravely. "The Bennetts are the last independent family in the US. There are covens up in Canada, but they prefer to stick with their own people."

"Like most witches," Bonnie muttered.

Witches and warlocks weren't exactly the most inclusive group of people she had ever encountered.

"Exactly. Celestia and her mother joined years ago, but they never had much power and Joshua is power hungry."

"I've noticed."

"He approached Abby regarding you. He wanted to set up a marriage pact between you and Malachai."

"HE WHAT?"

Bonnie almost tumbled out of her chair in shock. Of all the things she had expected to hear, this was not one of them.

"You have to understand, child. This used to be common practice. It strengthened alliances and kept magic strong, but most covens don't adhere to such practices any longer."

"But Joshua wants to bring back all of the old creepy traditions."

Sheila nodded. "Abby and I left. We both swore to stay away from the Geminis since then and we have, but when the Originals arrived in Mystic Falls things became complicated. Especially with your prophecy."

"I can't go to Mystic Falls, I get that, but why do I have to stay in Portland of all places?"

"That seer, she saw you among the Geminis as one of them. It was the only vision of you she had that didn't end in death."

"But I hate them."

"At least you are alive," Sheila said.

In that instant she looked older and more defeated than Bonnie had ever seen her before in her entire life.

"I hate Kai! He handed me over to Joshua when I needed his help."

"I understand, child. I do, and I am working on a way to break this agreement. But when I called Joshua it was the only way I could negotiate a safe haven for you. I'm sorry and I will do everything I can to make it right."

Bonnie squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead. No wonder Kol didn't want to tell her what was going on. For a brief moment, she wished she was back in the dark. Not knowing was infinitely better than this hell. This all-consuming fear she could end up forever tied to Kai.

While she had stayed with Kol and the Geminis, she had read a lot of grimoires. And Kol had a particular book of shadows that originally belonged to a Gemini warlock. The warlock had written extensively about history, ceremonies and other rituals. Magical unions were different from mortals, they could not be broken.

Sure, she could stray and move away, but she and Kai would forever have a magical bond. One that couldn't be shattered and that meant, he would forever in some shape or form be linked to her.

"Oh my God, this can't happen. It can't. I'll kill him first."

"Kol's rubbing off on you I see," Sheila said with a snort. "Don't be dramatic, child. You won't need to join the Gemini coven even if you go through with it so there is that."

"Oh, well in that case everything is fine," she muttered. "How do we get out of this deal with Joshua?"

"We need to offer him something better than a Bennett witch. Something more powerful."

"Where are we going to find that?"

"I don't know, but I was thinking we start by asking that vampire boyfriend of yours if he has any ideas."

"Why him?"

"He's lived a long time. He will have an idea what we can offer."

"And what if -" Bonnie took a deep breath to steel herself. "And what if the prophecy is right and I die anyway if I don't go through with this deal?"

"I have a friend," Sheila said speaking slowly, thoughtfully. "She is a gifted seer. I will speak with her before we take action. We must be certain because no matter what, I will not see you dead before your high school graduation, child."

Bonnie closed her eyes. The whole thing was a mess, but she had no doubt her Grams meant it. The one person, who might be able to help her was Kol and she was going to talk to him. After she was done yelling at him for not telling her the truth.

XXX

Kai was in his father's study along with Jo. Joshua was behind his desk. And Kai kicked his boots up on the desk. It was a rare honor to be in his dad's study chatting it up with him, but Kai knew Joshua was working an angle. It wasn't as if the old man trusted him.

"So what's up with your need to take out all vampires? Got this burning itch all of the sudden?"

"With the vampires out of the way, do you know, who the most powerful supernatural creatures on the planet are?"

Kai pointed to himself and feigned surprise. "You mean us?"

"Yes," Joshua snarled. "Once they are gone, we will be able to take our place at the top of the food chain. Our coven will expand and all solitary witches and lesser covens will join us."

"And what about old Black John? He's gotta have an angle."

"Your cunning mind is a gift, pity you are siphoner," Joshua sighed.

Kai gritted his teeth. He had to forcibly remind himself, if he took out dear old dad they all died. And it might be worth it, but after all this time when Kai was so close to having everything he ever wanted, he wasn't about to give in to an impulse.

"Dad, he's dangerous. He nearly decimated the New England coven," Jo said.

"Yes, he did. And in exchange, he wants them for his coven."

"Why would you let him have that? If you have all these big plans yourself, you wouldn't want a rival coven," Kai remarked.

Kai also knew that meant his father would not want an heir. Yup, Joshua was definitely going to welch on his deal to allow Kai to merge early. And knowing Papa Parker, he was going to welch by killing off Kai.

Well, Kai would just have to make certain that didn't happen.

"Oh, he won't be a problem. I have a plan to take him out before he becomes a problem."  
"And Mikael?" Jo asked.

"I'll kill myself and be rid of this filthy curse at last once my children and their numerous abominations are taken care of," a voice in the doorway side.

A blonde man walked straight in. His face was stiff and his eyes were cold. Kai could certainly see why Joshua and Mikael had hit it off. They had the same 'must kill my off-spring' mentality.

Perfect.

But Kai was already forming a contingency plan of his own. Once Joshua knocked all the other players off the board, Kai was going to take Joshua out of the game as well. And he thought he had the perfect solution.

XXX

"Elijah and Finn have dropped Nik off," Rebekah announced.

Kol looked up from his book when Rebekah entered his bedroom. She rarely ventured into his bedroom and that alone was a sign this was important.

"And where did they stash his body?"

"At the bottom of the ocean."

Rebekah smirked, but he could tell her heart wasn't in it. He knew her too well for her to hide her true feelings from him.

"Fantastic. Now don't look so glum, Bekah dear," he coaxed. "You're free. You can see whoever you want."

"We still need to protect each other. Nik might be gone, but father is still out there."

"And one day Nik could be woken because some foolish human expedition discovered him at the bottom of the ocean. You should have just let me stake him."

"What's your point?" she pouted, crossing her arms.

That was a sore point with Rebekah. When it came down to it, she hadn't been able to let him kill Klaus. In spite of everything, she still loved him.

"My point is, there is no point in worrying about things that haven't happened yet. As for father, I killed him in New Orleans, I'm certain of it."

"We've thought so before yet he always catches up to us."

"If he does," Kol withdrew the stake from his jacket. "I'll end him for real this time. Don't fret, little sister."

"Promise me if he comes back, we'll kill him this time."

"I will," Kol smirked.

Bonnie barged into the room and she looked livid.

"Rebekah, I need a moment alone with your brother."

"Oooh, I'll eavesdrop then, shall I?"

Rebekah sauntered out of the room with a wicked smile. She gave a cheery little wave with her fingers at him as she exited. Kol laughed. His sister was fun and her antics never failed to amuse.

"What's wrong, little witch?"

Bonnie slammed the door shut.

"I just spoke to my Grams."

"It didn't go well I take it."

"Shut up," she snarled.

That caught Kol off guard. He had seen Bonnie angry before, but nothing like this.

"What happened?"

He put his book aside and sat up.

"She told me about the Geminis. I know about the pact and do you know what else I know?"

Kol sighed. "That I knew."

"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"

"It wasn't my place."

"It wasn't your place?" she hissed. "We lived together for two months! We slept together and you didn't once think to tell me I was stuck with Kai?"

"I wanted to, but I knew it would upset you and it wasn't my deal, little witch."

"You should have told me!"

Kol realized quickly he couldn't talk his way out of this. It had to be a first. In his thousand years of life, he could not recall a single situation he couldn't talk or slaughter his way out of. There was always the third option of seducing his way out of it, but judging by the hard line of Bonnie's jaw that wasn't going to work either.

"You're right. I'm sorry," he said at last through clenched teeth.

When was the last time he had apologized?

"Wow, that actually looked painful."

Bonnie looked stunned, but there was traces of humor in her eyes. He was starting to wear her down. The little witch had never been able to stay angry with him for long.

"I'm not accustomed to apologizing. At least not sincerely," he said with a crooked smile. "Tell me what I can do to make it right."

"No more secrets, promise me Kol this is the last time you keep something from me."

He sighed. "Then there is something else you should know."

"What is it?" she sat down next to him.

"Rebekah thinks our father is alive."

"So?"

"He's an Original like us. Only he kills vampires and he has been trying to kill us for centuries. I believe I killed Mikael in New Orleans over a hundred years ago."

"But she doesn't think so. Why not?"

"Just a feeling," he took her hand. "The thing is with Bekah her feelings usually turn out to be right. When we were human, Rebekah was psychic. She would get these feelings, a sort of intuition and I've often wondered over the years if she hasn't retained some semblance of those powers."

"That's creepy, but you have the stake, right?"

"I do and if my father comes for us, I'll use it."

She put her head on his shoulder. "And we will put an end to him."

Bonnie sounded so certain, he had no choice other than to believe her.

"We will."

"Any idea what we can trade to get me out of this deal?"

"I've a few ideas," Kol said thinking it might be easiest to kill Joshua. "Give me some time to think of something."

Give him some time to kill Joshua more like.

XXX

Cassie was at Nick's house. She was lying on her back, he was over her kissing her in a way that made her breath catch in her throat. They had been making out for the better part of an hour. And she never wanted to stop.

Unfortunately, that meant there would be an interruption. Her phone rang and she groaned. She pulled herself away from Nick, he grabbed for her pulling her back underneath him.

"Ignore it."

"It's Jo."

"So? Let it ring," he murmured.

Nick's lips covered hers and she felt electricity from everywhere he touched her. But she pulled away.

"Nick, c'mon," she put her hands on his chest, keeping him at bay. "It could be important."

"Yeah, yeah, death to the Originals and whatever. The world is ending. Our leader is a sociopath."

Cassie laughed. "That's exactly why it's probably important."

Nick groaned and rolled off her. She ignored him and answered the phone.

"Cassie? Cassie oh my God," Jo said sounding panicked. "I don't have a lot of time. You have to warn Bonnie."

"Warn Bonnie about what?"

"Black John and Michael, they are going after Rebekah and Kol tonight. They're going to kidnap Bonnie."

Cassie didn't care much about the vampires. She'd dated Kai and she knew danger when she saw it thanks to him. He was cruel and she should have known, he was like his father. So she didn't actually care what happened to the Originals. She had seen them in the battle in New York, they were monsters.

"So? They won't hurt her."

"We failed her once, I'm not going to do that again. She doesn't want to join us. After what my dad did to her, I owe her an explanation."

"Why haven't you called her? I don't want to get in the way of whatever your dad is planning."

"Chicken," Jo muttered. "And I tried. She isn't taking my calls, but Kai says the two of you are cool. Just warn her for me, alright?"

"Alright."

Cassie hung up. Nick tried to kiss her again and she pushed him aside.

"What? You hung up," he complained.

"I have to call Bonnie," Cassie dialed Bonnie's number and waited impatiently as it rang. "C'mon, c'mon, pick up."

XXX

Bonnie was lying in Kol's arms. They were both naked and exhausted. She giggled and put her head on his shoulder.

"Now that's what I call makeup sex," Kol said and she didn't need to look to hear his smirk.

"You're so cocky."

"And I think you like it."

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, I'm hungry."

Bonnie got out of bed and got dressed. She heard Kol doing the same behind her.

Rebekah's screams pierced the air.

Kol disappeared in a blur. Bonnie ran to follow. She came to a halt in the living room. Rebekah was on her back and she was fighting off an older man. He was blonde and he looked up just in time to sneer at Kol.

Behind that man there was another figure. He had black hair and blue eyes. He reminded her of Cassie for some reason. She could feel magic coming from him.  
"Son," the man said.

"Mikael," Bonnie breathed.

"You must be the Bennett witch," Mikael said. "Care to help me kill your sister, Kol?"

Kol withdrew the stake from his pocket.

Bonnie saw her phone on the coffee table. It was vibrating and she caught a glimpse of Cassie's number. She inched closer. It stopped and she kept inching closer.

"Not particularly," Kol said. "What do you say I kill you instead?"

Mikael got to his feet, he threw Rebekah through the wall. Bonnie screamed. Her phone pinged and she risked a glance at it. There was a text from Cassie.

 **You're in danger.**

Little late, Bonnie thought wondering how Cassie knew.

Mikael ran at Kol and Bonnie used an aneurism to bring him to his knees. Kol disappeared in a blink. In the next instant, he was standing over Mikael, stake raised.

The man behind Mikael sneered and now Kol was the one in pain. He clutched his head and screamed, but the stake was still firmly in his hands. Bonnie tried to maintain the spell on Mikael.

"MOTUS!"

The second man hit the wall. Kol was on his feet and so was Mikael.

Out of nowhere, Rebekah bulldozed into Mikael. He hit the coffee table and it broke. Rebekah tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"See father, girls are capable of violence too."

Bonnie was paralyzed, she couldn't move. She just saw what was happening in slow motion.

Mikael was on his feet, Kol ran behind him and staked him. Only the other man, threw him across the room first. He set him on fire.

KOL! She tried to scream, but nothing came out.

Rebekah ran through the room and knocked the second man out. Bonnie landed on her hands and knees. Kol was screaming in pain.

"Agua," she yelled.

Water drenched him. In seconds, Kol was back on his feet. Mikael had somehow gotten his hands on the stake. He had Rebekah in his grip, the stake aimed at her heart.

Both Bonnie and Kol froze.

"Not another step, either of you," Mikael said. "Especially not you, witch."

The second man rose to his feet.

"Don't hurt the witch that was the deal," he rasped.

"I know the deal, Black John," Mikael snarled.

Bonnie was about to risk a spell when she saw Cassie and Nick. They crept into the room. Cassie threw out her arms and Mikael crumpled to the ground. Rebekah was lightning fast, she tore into Mikael's throat. Kol grabbed the stake.

Bonnie threw Black John into the wall and Cassie and Nick acted as a team. They threw up a barrier so he couldn't get back into the room. Bonnie had only seen this spell once before, Joshua had used it to keep her locked in his study.

Black John laughed.

Kol tossed the stake to Rebekah.

"Care to do the honors, sister?"

"I'd love to."

Rebekah raised the stake and ran it through Mikael's heart. His body turned grey and the stake lit on fire along with his body. Rebekah and Kol jumped back. One look told her they were both unscathed with the exception of Kol's burned clothes.

"Cassie," Bonnie said. She ran to her and threw her arms around the other girl's neck. "Thank you. You too, Nick."

"Don't thank me. I don't normally volunteer for suicide missions," Nick said. "This was all Cassie."

"Thank you."

Bonnie broke the hug.

"Hey, what are friends for?" Cassie said blushing. "We weren't going to let Joshua hurt you again."

"Not to ruin this happy moment, but Bonnie didn't appear to be the target," Kol drawled.

"This isn't over," Black John said appearing in the doorway. "I'll be back."

In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

"Oh my God," Cassie whispered. She looked at Nick. "He was working with Mikael."

"Which means he is working with Joshua," Nick said. "But we knew that."

"Yes, but why?" Cassie said with urgency.

Nick's expression never wavered. "Don't you see?"

Cassie shook her head.

"They made a deal. I bet Joshua traded us for Bonnie."

"Me?" Bonnie said.

"She's a Bennett," Cassie breathed. "They have more power on their own than our entire New England coven combined."

"Exactly," Nick nodded. "Black John gets Joshua Bonnie and in return? Black John gets us."

"Care to share your theory with the group?" Kol asked.

"Joshua is the one that sent Mikael and Black John here," Cassie said. "My guess is, he's trying to eliminate the Original family once and for all."

"Pity, we just destroyed the only way to kill us," Rebekah drawled.

She kicked Mikael's ashen body.

"If there are others way, Joshua will know them," Nick said in a detached way. "And he won't stop. Not until he gets Bonnie back."

"Me? Why me?"

"You're a Bennett," Kol said as if that was obvious.

"So?"

Rebekah laughed. "Your Grams really didn't get around to teaching you a lot about your family history before you were sent here, did she? Or did you not connect the dots when we talk about your family?"

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie said.

She knew the Bennetts were considered powerful, but her whole family couldn't be enough for Joshua to go this far.

"Bennetts," Nick said slowly. "Are like the superstars of witches. Your family is famous for its power and talent."

"We are?" she looked at Kol. "You never mentioned that."

"I thought you knew," Kol shrugged. "Why do you think so many of your ancestors have encountered my family?"

"I don't know. All of you just turned up in Mystic Falls. I thought it was your thing or whatever."

"The powerful, they always flock together," Rebekah replied easily. "And what does Black John want with you?"

"He wants his original coven back," Cassie said. "We're their descendants."

"My, today became dramatic fast," Kol sighed. "Suppose we'll have to murder Joshua now."

"You can't," Bonnie said immediately.

"No," Cassie and Nick cried in unison.

"I think I have another idea," Bonnie said. "A better one."

"Why when killing him is so much easier?" Kol growled.

"Just shut up and hear me out, okay?"

Kol's eyes flashed dangerously, but he nodded.

XXX

Kai was cloaked. He was in his father's office. Joshua had received Black John and Kai was going to listen in. His plan hinged on Mikael successfully killing the Originals. Then he would merge with Jo without his father's permission and kill Joshua.

In the ashes of what was left, he was sure he could get Bonnie back. When it was all over, she still couldn't return to Mystic Falls and without Kol clouding her judgement, she would come to him. After all, she still needed safe harbor. And up until Joshua and Kol ruined everything, she'd liked him.

"Where's Mikael?" Joshua asked.

"His children killed him," Black John answered.

Kai noticed neither man seemed particularly concerned with the situation.

"That makes no difference, we can still kill them."

"I held up my end of the deal," Black John said. "Give me my coven."  
"Not until the Originals are dead," Joshua said voice ice cold. "The deal was you bring me the Bennett witch."

And once she was back with the Geminis, Kai was free to proceed with his plan. The only difficult part was convincing Jo to merge. But he suspected he had an idea that would make her comply.

XXX

Bonnie and Cassie went alone to meet Jo. It was a weekend and they had agreed to meet at the spot behind the school.

Nick had stayed behind to find the spell, Bonnie needed to keep Joshua out of the way. Kol and Rebekah were helping Nick go through Kol's collection of grimoires.

When they got to the spot behind the bleachers, Jo was already there. She was sitting underneath the large oak tree and she looked antsy.

"There you are," Jo said breathing a sigh of relief when Bonnie and Cassie approached.

They sat down across from her.

"We need to take out Joshua," Bonnie said deciding to skip pleasantries. "If he's not here then Cassie and the rest of the New Englanders are safe from Black John."

"Including your Original vampires," Jo said with a hard look at Bonnie. "And you will be free of the Gemini coven's grip on you."

"I already am," Bonnie snarled. "But Black John is going to kill Kol and I can't let that happen."

"You want dad out of the way?" Jo said angrily getting to her feet. "Then you are talking to the wrong twin."

Jo left without another word.

"Looks like we are going to have to talk to Kai," Cassie said.

"No, absolutely not," Bonnie said shaking her head. "He wants Kol dead as much as Joshua if not more."

"Only because he's jealous," Cassie shot back. "And I know Kai is unhinged, but he wants to be coven leader more than he wants Kol dead."

"Are you willing to bet your life on that? Because if we're wrong and Black John goes through with Joshua's deal, your coven will be tied to him."

"If we do nothing, we end up tied Black John because he won't give up and there's only one way to kill him."

"Which is?"

"Destroy the crystal skull, but we need the power of a coven leader and Joshua isn't going to do it, but Kai might."

"What about Diana? You said she was your leader back in New England?" Bonnie pushed.

There had to be another way.

"We didn't know that then," Cassie said. "And Diana isn't our high priestess anymore. It's Joshua now and Kai is literally our only hope."

Bonnie sighed. "I liked it better when Jo was our only hope."

"Hey, we can do this without them, but how do you think we are going to lure Joshua into a trap without them? He won't be summoned by just any member of the coven you know."

"And once he's trapped, the Geminis need a new leader."

"Preferably one that will kill Black John and allow us to return to New England."

This was complicated and Bonnie felt like banging her head against a wall. She was sure that would be more helpful than this conversation.

"Fine, we go to Kai."

"Thank you."

Cassie's eyes were wide and she took Bonnie's hands in hers. Bonnie still wasn't convinced this was a good idea. She was still wondering if it wasn't possible to pull this off without Kai, but then again Joshua was so paranoid they needed someone, he thought was under his control. Bonnie just wasn't convinced that person was Kai, he had betrayed her once already. And she wasn't eager to give him the chance to do it again.

"But are you sure about Kai?" Bonnie said gnawing on her lower lip. "He's already betrayed me once."

"I'm pretty sure Kai wants two things, you and to be coven leader," Cassie said. "And if we offer him that he'll be on our side, but ask Kol. I'm pretty sure he understands Kai's screwed up head better than me."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not telling Kol I went to Kai. He'll blow a gasket," Bonnie said getting to her feet.

"They aren't friends?"

"Not after Kai tried to kill him twice. And we might as well get this over with."

"Guess they're both less psycho than I thought."

Bonnie frowned at her. "Kol isn't a psycho. Well not a total psycho anyway."

She started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Cassie said following her.

"To track down Kai and I think I know where he is."

Bonnie knew all of Kai's hiding spots and she figured he wanted to be as far away from Joshua as he could get, which meant she knew where to find him. Cassie followed her and Bonnie drove them to the outskirts of town.

Kai had let it slip that he had a hiding spot, Joshua couldn't find. He had cast a spell on it using some of Jo's magic to make it untraceable. It was a place in the middle of the forest and he had been coming there since he was like thirteen or whatever.

Bonnie wasn't one hundred percent sure how to find his hide out. Her plan was banking on him showing himself if she showed up. She just needed to get close enough to draw him out.

So she lead Cassie into the middle of the woods. There was a clearing and she heard birds chirping in the distance. But she didn't see any trace of Kai or catch as much as a glimmer of magic.

"Kai?" Bonnie said turning around trying to find him. "Kai, are you around here?"

Out of nowhere, a hand reached out of the sky and yanked her upward. She just had time to catch a glimpse of Kai's face before her body was jerked skyward.

 **Sorry about the late update. I've been at a party and I'm uploading this after I got home (I am not sober, so I hope there aren't too many typos because I didn't have time to proof it again). It's not still Thursday here in the Netherlands, but what can you do?**

 **Anyway, thank you to everyone, who has read, reviewed, faved and followed this fic! You guys are all the best! And the response to last chapter? BLEW ME AWAY!**

 **And for all you lovely bonkai shippers out there, there will be some bonkai interaction next chapter, I promise! The updates will be bi-weekly because I'm a bit behind in writing and overworked. Speaking of, I'm getting my masters in English so that I can teach since I hate my retail job and my bachelors in English is useless.**

 **I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr, send me an ask for a bonkai or kennett drabble.**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Your reviews brightened my day.**

 **Guest: I love bonkai and kennett too. Yup, we are looking at about another 40 chapters, I hope. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**

 **AnaIsabel1: Why thank you, I dare because kennett is super sexy and kennett smut is a necessity in this cold, hard world, lol. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

 **A/N: Thank you so much to everyone, who has stuck with this fic. I know I usually reply to reviews, but I've been swamped so I haven't answered everyone. But I want you all to know I have read them and I'm grateful you took the time to write them. They mean the world to me and now that I have my schedule back under control, I'm replying to reviews and am generally active on social media again.**

Bonnie led Cassie into the middle of the woods. There was a clearing and she heard birds chirping in the distance. But she didn't see any trace of Kai or catch as much as a glimmer of magic.

"Kai?" Bonnie said turning around trying to find him. "Kai, are you here?"

Out of nowhere, a hand reached out of the sky and yanked her upward. She just had time to catch a glimpse of Kai's face before her body was jerked skyward.

"BONNIE!" Cassie shrieked.

Bonnie hit something hard with a thump, landing on her back. She heard a latch slam shut and she scrambled to her feet, her magic at the ready.

"Woah, easy there, Bunny," Kai chuckled. He stepped out of the shadows, holding his hands high.

"What the hell, Kai?" she demanded from between clenched teeth.

"Hey, you're the one that came looking for me, Bunny."

"I came to talk, not get abducted you psycho."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be off with your boyfriend? Letting him suck your blood or whatever the hell it is the two of you get up to."

Bonnie didn't think now was the time to tell Kai, Kol had never actually tasted her blood. He didn't look like he was in the mood.

Kai walked over to a window. Bonnie took in her surroundings and saw she was in a treehouse of sorts. The room was dark and it was almost an exact replica of Kai's room in his house. But it was warded. She could feel the magic reverberating through the walls. He walked over to the window and stared out of it.

"Kai," Bonnie said from between clenched teeth. "What is this place?"

"My little hide out," Kai said keeping his back to her. "Whenever dad gets a little too trigger happy, I come here."

"When he what?" her stomach churned and she felt sick. "Does he hurt you?"

"What do you care?"

Kai turned around and his eyes were hard. The blue of his eyes had gone as cold as winter. She took a step back, realizing Kai was still dangerous and she hadn't planned to come here alone, which of course, he had to foil. She realized something else as well, it wasn't her business. She and Kai weren't whatever they had been before.

Friends maybe something a little more? Not that it mattered, things weren't like that between them anymore.

"You're right, I don't," Bonnie said harshly. "But I'm guessing out of all the Geminis, no one wants to hurt Joshua Parker as much as you do."

Kai smirked. He gave her a heated look and took a step toward her. On instinct, she moved backward.

"Figured it out, have you?"

"About the pact or Joshua's deal to kidnap me?"

"Oh, ho-ho," he laughed then. "Check you out, Bonster. You've got it all figured out now. So what did you come here for? Did you maybe just miss me?"

For half a second, Bonnie thought there was actually something hopeful in his voice. Then she realized how stupid that was. Kai didn't have feelings and he definitely wouldn't care if she missed him or not.

"I want to take out Joshua and you're going to help me."

"Am I?" he feigned shock. "Why?" he cocked his head to the side and started toward her.

There was something predatory about his movements and she scrambled backwards until her back hit the wall. Realizing she was cornered, she held her chin up proudly. No way, was she going to let him push her around.

"Because we both want the same thing, Joshua out of the way."

"Close enough," he laughed. He gave her a teasing smile, but there was something sinister in his eyes that made a shiver run down her spine. "Felt like making a deal with the devil, did yah?"

"Something like that," she muttered. "Are you in or out?"

"Does Kol know you're here? I can't imagine he wants his girlfriend hanging around me. Kind of strikes me as the jealous type, am I right?"

"Kai, I swear if you don't give me a straight answer -"

"You'll what, Bunny?" Kai came closer and put his hands on either side of her head. "Because from where I'm standing, you look terrified. So what are you going to do?"

With Kai this close she could smell his cologne. It was fresh and sharp with just a hint of sandalwood. It made her think of all the times, he had snuggled her and held her hand. Made her laugh in spite of herself. She broke eye contact, the last thing she wanted was for Kai to find out she really did miss him.

"You know about prison worlds, right?" she blurted the question.

Bonnie was hoping a change of subject would throw Kai off his game. And it did, she saw the shock registering like a physical blow. His eyes widened and he stared at her in silence for a few seconds. For Kai, that was a long time to shut up.

"You're going to stick my dad in a prison world?" he smirked. "That's brilliant. Only trouble is, how are you going to get him there?"

"I was kind of hoping you could be some help with that."

"Yeah," he nodded.

Except, Kai was standing so close to her now, she could feel the heat radiating off him. When he nodded his cheek brushed hers and an electric current shot through her. Panicked, she put her hands on his chest and shoved.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"You know what," she said with a hard look.

He laughed. "Still scared I'm going to siphon you, Bunny? Still haven't figured it out have you? I bet it's just driving you crazy."

"Figured what out?" Bonnie snapped.

"Why I betrayed you to dear old dad."

"Because you're a sociopath and all you care about is yourself."

Kai's breath came out in a puff. "Something like that. Or maybe he offered me a deal so good, I couldn't possibly pass it up?"

Again, she looked away from him.

"Doesn't matter."

"If you say so," he said letting his head rest on her shoulder and she shivered, trying to ignore the way his touch still affected her. "What do I get if I help you out of this jam, Bunny?"

"You get your dad out of the way and you can merge with Jo. That's what you want right?"

"And what will I have to do to get this honor?"

"Lure your dad to the right location so we can trap him in a prison world."

"You need an ascendant for that," Kai said immediately. "And I can get you one."

"You can?" she chewed on her bottom lip, considering whether or not trusting him was worth the risk.

"I can," he grinned. "Because I'm awesome. But here's the thing, I'm going to need a few things in return."

"Like what?"

"Here's the thing," Kai said clucking. He ran his nose along her cheek and down her throat and she gasped. She held completely still and closed her eyes. She tried to ignore the flames that spread from everywhere he touched her, but it was impossible. Just like it was hard to ignore the growing fear, he was going to siphon her and leave her for dead. "If I stay team Joshua, I get you -" he nipped on her earlobe. "Kol turns up dead and Jo and I merge early. So what are you offering that's better than that?"

Bonnie was fed up. Throwing caution to the wind, she grabbed his shoulders and shoved him back.

"How are you getting me?"

"Because of Sheila and dad's deal. You didn't really think dad was going to let you worm your way out of that one? Because if you did, wow majorly naïve, but what else can you expect from a small town gal?"

Bonnie felt faintly queasy. She didn't want to believe him, but she did. Kai was telling the truth, there was nothing they could offer Joshua that would make him relinquish her from the deal.

And that made taking him out all the more important.

"What do you want?"

"Well I want the same terms, except yah know we can hold off on the whole marriage thing for a while, Bonster. I mean, dad might still live in the dark ages, but me? Not so much, I'm a more modern guy."

"Yeah, I can tell," she rolled her eyes.

"But it doesn't matter because either way I get what I want."

Bonnie shook her head. "That's not going to happen. I don't want to be with you, no matter what."

"Too bad. Then I guess Kol is going to die and Black John gets his coven after all."

Bonnie was at war with herself. She wanted to tell Kai to go to hell. But if she did nothing and saved her own skin, the people she cared about were the ones that would suffer. She knew what Kol would tell her to do, save herself and screw the coven. He certainly wasn't overly concerned with Black John.

Kol and Rebekah figured they could handle him. But Bonnie wasn't willing to risk it. And neither was she willing to risk the lives of the New England witches. So she had talked the Originals into helping, mostly because Kol was convinced she couldn't be talked out of it. And he figured she stood a better chance of surviving, if he helped.

Once it was all said and done, she could find a way to welch on Kai. Just like she had intended to do with Joshua. And with the oak stake out of the way then there was no way, Kai could threaten the Originals. That meant, he would have a lot harder time when he came to collect.

"Fine," Bonnie said before she could change her mind. "But not a word to Kol until this is all over, alright?"

"You have a deal," Kai said with a smirk.

"Great, now can you let me out of here before Cassie brings back Nick and a vampire rescue squad?"

"Pff, haven't you noticed? Cassie's been going through some stuff. Now she's all brave. My guess? She's trying to track down this little tree house all on her own."

"Fine, but I'd still like to go."

Bonnie tried to shove her way past him, but Kai jumped in front of her.

"Not so fast, Bunny. What's the plan?"

Bonnie internally debated how much it was safe to tell him. She settled on as little as possible. Now if only she could get past him without too many questions.

"We take out Joshua. You merge with Jo and I then we figure the rest out from there," Bonnie said making sure to let her feelings of exhaustion and defeat creep into her voice. She knew that would convince Kai, she was telling the truth. "And we have to get rid of Black John obviously."

And honestly? She was exhausted. The drama and problems just kept piling on until she thought she was going to go crazy. First, she had to deal with Stefan and Damon. They seemed like such a distant memory now and how she wished she could go back to those days. In a way, things had been a lot simpler for her.

She had to come to Portland and honestly, the weirdness hadn't let up for more than a few weeks at a time since arriving here. And Kol was sure Portland was safer than Mystic Falls? Because honestly, she wasn't convinced.

"Great plan. When do we cast the spell?"

"I don't know yet. We're trying to find the spell to stick Joshua in a prison world, you just deliver on your end and find an ascendant. Find me at school once you have."

"Fine," Kai said his eyes flashing. He didn't like being told what to do, Bonnie remembered and smirked at him. "And who is this 'we'? I mean I'm assuming your vampire boyfriend is on this little heist, but who else?"  
"Just him and Rebekah," Bonnie lied.

"And Cassie, why else would she be here? If Cassie is involved it means Nick is in on it. If he is then so is the rest of the New Englanders. Lying to me, Bon? Not smart."

Bonnie shook her head. "Fine, everyone is in on it or they will be soon. But if you tell Joshua -"

"C'mon, you really think I'm going to go running to daddy?"

"You turned on me," Bonnie said with bite. "I needed you and you just handed me over to him."

"Bonnie," Kai shook his head. "I was going to lift dad's spell on you the second I was coven leader."

"Then why even bother? You told me you like me and then not even a day later, you betray me."

"Because," Kai said through clenched teeth. Good, she was pushing his buttons, he had it coming. "Dad promised if I took your magic, he would let me merge with Jo early. But honestly? I never bought that I was just stalling for time as I planned my bid for power."

Bonnie gasped. She felt like she had been sucker punched. All of the air drained from her lungs.

"You stabbed me in the back to buy yourself time? That's how little I mean to you?" she knew every ounce of the hurt and betrayal she felt showed on her face, but she didn't care. "I know you're a sociopath, Kai – but that's disgusting. I can't believe I used to think there was hope for you."

Bonnie shouldered her way past him and slapped his hand away when he reached for her. She grabbed the hatch she hoped led to the outside. She tugged it open and jumped through.

She landed on her knees, next to Cassie.

"There you are," Cassie said breathing a sigh of relief. "I kept trying this tracking spell, but it just kept telling me you were right here, which makes no sense because I couldn't see anything- oh my God, Kai cloaked his hiding spot in ancestral magic, duh I'm so dumb."

Bonnie shrugged. "Probably. Look, he's in so we can get out of -"

Kai jumped out of the hiding spot and landed nimbly in front of her. He must have done it a lot over the years because he landed easier than she had. That made her want to hex him.

"Bon -"

"Save it," she hissed. "You got what you wanted. Just find the damn ascendant, alright?"

"Alright," Kai nodded.

He was smiling, but Bonnie could have sworn it was just a ghost of his usual arrogance.

XXX

A few days later and Bonnie was seriously sick of gym class. Kai and the other bullies had the run of the place here in Portland. There had been some bullies back in Mystic Falls, but back then she had been one of the popular girls or at least so under the radar, they never bothered her.

But here? Not so much.

As the new girl, she wasn't under anyone's radar, least of all Kai's. And he used gym class as a daily excuse to hound her.

And dodgeball made that so much easier. Luckily, she was on Kai's team. There was a limited amount of damage, he could do when they were on the same team. Bonnie ran past Kai and caught a ball in her hands, she threw it back, hitting Jo in the stomach. Jo looked all too relieved to sit down on the bench.

Kai ran over to Bonnie. He hovered next to her, never staying still for long. He grabbed one of her braids and tugged on it. She slapped his hand and he laughed.

"Leave me alone," she snarled.

Kai laughed again. "Awe, but Bunny you look so cute with your braids."

"Go away."

Kai's distraction cost her. A dodgeball hit her on the calf, it stung and she cried out. She walked away from Kai all too happy to have an excuse to get away. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Kai hurl the ball back to the other side. It hit Hunter in the head. He fell down and the coach blew his whistle.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT PARKER?"

Kai shrugged. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

Bonnie watched as the coach's eyes narrowed in suspicions. His nostrils flared and his face was red from anger.

"There's something not right about you, kid."

"Like I said it was an accident," Kai said shoving his hands in his pockets.

Bonnie hated to admit it, but he was doing a pretty good job of looking innocent.

"You're benched for the rest of class," the coach said, he must have decided he couldn't prove Kai had done it on purpose. "HUNTER WALK IT OFF!"

Bonnie was all too familiar with the coach's teaching style to have expected anything else. No matter how severe the injury was his solution was always walk it off. Everything from a twisted ankle to a dodgeball in the head and a potential concussion could be walked off.

Bonnie flopped down on the bench and groaned when Kai sat down next to her. He wore a big goofy grin.

"What do you want?"

"Me?" Kai pointed to himself. "Well a thank you would be nice."  
"For what?"

Bonnie jumped out of his reach when he tried to grab her braid again.

"For hitting the guy that hit you."

"It's dodgeball, Kai," she said rolling her eyes. "You weren't avenging my death on the battlefield."

"C'mon, that was totally chivalrous. I like defended your honor or whatever."

"Oh my God," she squeezed her eyes shut tight and prayed for class to end.

Yesterday, Kai had spent the whole time they played basketball blocking her until coach benched him. Apparently, Kai actually had to participate in the game. Not just use the time to 'flirt'. Bonnie had piped up and said it wasn't flirting, it was stalking. Kai hadn't been too pleased with her after that.

"I don't get you," Kai said giving her an odd look.

"Back at you."

"I'm serious."

"I so don't care," Bonnie retorted and crossed her arms. "What do you even want?"

"I don't know," he ran his hand through his hair and he did actually look fairly distraught. "Here's the thing, I'm not supposed to feel things, we agree on that, right?"

"Definitely, you've proven you're a selfish asshole with no empathy," Bonnie said with a dazzling smile.

"Ha-ha," Kai said sarcastically. "So riddle me this, why do I like I want to talk to you?"

"I don't know, maybe because you never shut up?"

"No, I mean not just when you're around, but like when you aren't too."

Bonnie stared at him. He had to be full of shit. He just had to be because there was no way, he was trying to tell her what she thought he was trying to say.

"Leave me alone."

"No, I'm serious. Like I'll be at home and I'll think 'hey, I should tell Bonnie about this' or out somewhere and I'll like wish you were there. And when I'm around you, I like want you to smile and I want to touch you, like all of the time."

Bonnie had to admit, in his confusion, Kai was way less eloquent than he normally was. And if this had been before he sold her out to Joshua, she might have found that disarming, but she no longer trusted a single word that came out of his mouth.

"If you're trying to say you miss me, save it because I'm calling bullshit."

"Is that what I'm feeling?" Kai asked.

His blue eyes were so open and unguarded when he caught her eye that for a wild second, she almost believed he was sincere.

"You tell me. I really don't care what emotion you pretend to feel anymore. I trusted you once and I'm not making that mistake again."

Bonnie moved away from him. Kai was watching her and she ignored him.

Kai might be a jerk, but compared to some of the other kids in gym class, she got off easy. She saw that now that coach's back was turned, a group of guys were dragging Ken into the locker room. Ken was a scrawny kid and a math wiz. He also had a tendency toward the pedantic and the jocks loved to torment him.

Knowing coach wouldn't do squat about it, Bonnie followed them.

Bonnie crept into the locker room, just in time to see Bryan shoving Ken up against a locker. Bryan's goons slash friends were standing behind him, she recognized Will, Rob and Tim. They were the embodiment of the jock-bully stereotype and Bonnie had seen them roaming the hallways, tripping nerds and harassing girls.

"Leave him alone," Bonnie said taking a step forward.

Bryan looked over his shoulder, saw her and grinned. The other guys laughed, but Bonnie stayed where she was. She held her head high and when Ken looked at her with desperation and fear, she stayed calm. There was no way she was leaving Ken here alone with these bullies.

"What are you going to do?" Tim sneered.

"I don't know, I'm guessing a rational conversation is out of the question?" Bonnie asked with an evil smile. One she had stolen from Rebekah. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you guys are probably not totally stupid, but you don't seem like the kind of guys, who are very in-touch with your feelings. Otherwise, you might find healthier ways to express them."

Bonnie was aware, she sounded as crazy and mocking as Kai when he was on a tear, but she found herself unable to stop. She knew her best chance at getting to them to back down without a fight was to mimic Kai. It usually worked for him and Bonnie wasn't afraid to get into a physical fight, but they did outnumber her. And she couldn't exactly use her magic on her classmates.

No matter how tempting it was.

"Wow," Bryan said with mocking. "What, you think you're tough because you had a thing with Kai?"

"Or is it Kol she's with now?" Tim said with a sneer. "I can't keep track."

"You know how sluts are," Will said with a malicious smile. "Just can't keep up with all of their slutty behavior."

"So witty," Bonnie said. "I bet that took you all night to come up with."

"Get her," Bryan growled.

Ken tried to run away, but Will caught him. He knocked him to the ground. Bonnie threw a punch when Bryan approached, but he ducked. Rob caught her wrist and yanked her to him. She snarled and kicked him. Not that he seemed to notice.

Thinking quickly, Bonnie cast an illusion spell. From the main door to the locker room, there came heavy footsteps. She included the clanging noise of keys that always accompanied teachers and janitors. Hopefully, that would scare them off.

Ken scrambled to get away, crying out for help. The other boys froze, hearing the noise from Bonnie's illusion spell. She closed her eyes and focused on bringing the figure of a teacher into life, she chose the principal.

Ken screamed louder this time and Bonnie's concentration broke. She felt her illusion slip away like water.

Dammit, she needed to practice, but lately there had been so many life and death situations, she hadn't had the time.

"Bonster? Whatcha doing in the boys' locker room?"

Kai? Bonnie thought wildly, what was he doing here?

"Shit," Tim hissed. "If Kai catches us, he's going to kill us!"

Kai had a reputation at school for being a real psycho. One that had beaten up more than one guy. Most of whom ended up in the hospital.

"Never mind Kai," Bryan whispered back. "Where'd the teacher go?"

"KAI!" Bonnie screamed.

She knew it was a long-shot. After what happened with Joshua, Bonnie knew Kai was as likely to help them as he was her. But then again, in New York, he'd saved her life.

Tim dropped her and she scrambled to her feet. She glared at all of the boys and a second later, Kai walked over. He came from around the corner of the lockers. He grinned manically, which turned into an evil look when he saw what was going on.

"Whatcha doin', Bunny?" he said teasingly, in a way that didn't match the hard set of his eyes or shoulders.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to stop them from rearranging Ken's face."

"How's that going?"

"Not great."

"Huh, that sucks. Want some help?"

"Yeah," Bonnie said in a 'duh' voice.

"Uhm, Kai there's really no need to overreact," Tim said backing up and holding his hands up. "We weren't going to hurt Bonnie."

"We swear, man," Bryan said backing up too.

"He's lying," Ken said. "They were calling her names and being dicks."

"Shut up," Bryan hissed.

"Were you now?" Kai said moving closer to the other boys.

Bonnie had to admit, she was a little impressed. Kai had four guys all backing up and looking scared shitless. Not so tough now, Bonnie thought. Not when they don't have the upper hand.

But Bonnie reminded herself, she was a good person. She wasn't going to let Kai beat up the bullies. Even if they did have it coming because honestly, it wasn't a fair fight. Kai was a sociopath and they were just garden variety jerks.

Bonnie closed her eyes and concentrated on the illusion spell. She could feel her magic surge forth and she knew the illusion she conjured this time was stronger than the one, she had conjured earlier. Mainly, because this time, she didn't need to try to block out an attack. She just had to ignore Kai stalking toward the bullies menacingly, he wouldn't hurt them. Not yet, he was toying with them first.

A perfect copy of the principal stepped into the locker room. He looked completely solid down to the way, his moustache moved when he breathed.

"What's going on here?" the principal demanded in a booming voice. "Miss Bennett get out of the boys' locker room. That goes for the rest of you as well."

The boys all scurried out and Bonnie returned to the gym. She wasn't surprised when Kai loped up next to her.

"Nice casting," he said flashing a smile. "And thank you Kai for the rescue," he continued in a high-pitched voice that was meant to sound like her.

Bonnie glared at him. She didn't sound like that.

"Yeah, thanks. It almost makes up for the time you sold me out to your dad," Bonnie said with a saccharine smile. "Hey, how did you know that was an illusion? I thought it was pretty solid casting."

"And it was. Your magic is pretty darn potent and I felt it in the air."

"Huh."

Bonnie walked away from him and ignored him when he called for her to come back. She had nothing more to say to Kai.

XXX

Kol was waiting by Bonnie's locker at school. She was still in gym class with Kai and he waited impatiently for her return. Whenever she had gym class, Kol was nervous. He knew Kai had been bothering Bonnie, trailing after her and tormenting her for her attention like a naughty child. Therefore, Kol concluded it was only a matter of time before Kai told Bonnie what had truly happened that day with Joshua.

And Kol had promised Bonnie no more secrets, if she learned he had been keeping that from her, she would be furious.

When he saw Bonnie approaching with no sign of Kai nearby, he sighed in relief. He moved from the locker and walked over to her.

"Greetings," he said with a teasing smile. "How was gym class?"

"Fine, kind of boring," Bonnie said taking his hand.

He knew instantly she was lying, he could smell Kai on her.

"What did Kai do?"

"Nothing," she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Did he bother you?"

"It's fine," Bonnie said starting toward Kol's car.

He followed her, he was not going to let this go.

"If he's bothering you say the word little witch and I'll end him. I've been tempted for months now."

"So why haven't you?"

Kol shrugged. "I suppose I believed some part of you was still attached to him. Killing him would only hurt you. Now tell me what he did."

Bonnie didn't answer. She didn't want to get into it.

Kol unlocked the car and they got in. Bonnie usually drove in the way home and there was nothing she liked half as much as testing out the speed on the Ferrari.

Bonnie whipped out of the parking lot, soon she was zooming down the highway.

"Kai didn't do anything," Bonnie said when she saw the look on Kol's face. "But uhm, speaking of Kai."

"Oh dear," Kol sighed theatrically. "What is it?"

"Jo wouldn't move against Joshua, but Kai signed up."

"You went to Kai? Without me?"

Bonnie grit her teeth together. She knew this was going to become a problem the second Cassie suggested asking Kai on this suicide mission of theirs. Worse still, was Kol's reaction when he learned she had made a deal to honor the pact with the Geminis. She totally planned on welshing, but she doubted that would make Kol feel any better about it.

"Yeah, I know, but what choice did we have?"

"He is dangerous, Bonnie. You shouldn't have approached him without me. What if he had tried to hurt you?"

"Then I'd magically kick his ass," Bonnie said with a cheeky smile.

"He's a siphoner, little witch. Best not to tangle with him at least not in close quarters."

"It was fine," she said firmly. "And he's going to help. All we need is an ascendant and Kai says he can get his hands on one."

"We need an ascendant and an eclipse," Kol replied. "Have you read the spell yet?"

"I skimmed it. I hate Latin."

Kol laughed. "Fortunately for you, I'm an excellent translator. Nick and Cassie are already working on finding the precise date and time for the next eclipse."

"I just hope we don't have to wait years."

"That's the problem," Kol said thoughtfully. "However, I think I might know a spell to help us."

"What sort of spell?"

Bonnie grinned when she saw the playful look on Kol's face. He knew just how little it took to pique her curiosity. Just the hint or mention of a spell she'd never heard was enough to intrigue her.

"The sort that can conjure a magical eclipse when necessary."

"Really? Even if we don't have to use it, you have to teach me that spell," Bonnie said as she drove into the parking lot underneath Kol's building.

"We can start right away, if you'd like."

Kol smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat. She pulled into his reserved parking space and giddy with the prospect of spell casting. Kol had taught her several spells over the past few months and she had even taught him a thing or two he didn't know. There were spells she had learned from Kai and Jo that Kol had never even heard of. Not to mention some of the things in her own family's grimoires.

The idea of learning more magic sent a thrill through her, especially one as challenging and unique as this. She parked more recklessly than she normally would have in her eagerness. Bonnie hopped out of the car and ran ahead, but Kol loped up next to her easily like he always did.

Rebekah wasn't home when they entered the apartment, which wasn't surprising. Normally after school, she went straight to a local bar and found a man. She was often bored and dissatisfied with the boys at school.

Kol led the way to the library. He stored hundreds of grimoires and magical artifacts there. Bonnie never ceased to be amazed by the amount of things, he had collected over the centuries. He had so much magic it made her own and her Grams' collection look small. When she first moved in, she had asked Kol about it, but he'd said it was mostly things he had gotten from friends, rescued from mortals and their museums. A few pieces he had stolen and some he had collected after the witch or warlock was dead because they were constantly at war with vampires and sometimes they died. Kol claimed he'd never killed a witch or a warlock, but she wasn't certain she believed him. After all, he was a vampire and just out of self-defense he must have killed a few.

Kol located a particularly old grimoire. Its pages were yellow and worn. The cover was cracked and the letters fading. Kol turned the pages until he came upon a drawing of a lunar eclipse. Bonnie studied the writing next to the drawing, but she didn't recognize the language. When she flipped the page, she saw it had been translated to Latin and archaic English.

Bonnie studied the English. It was slow going and she looked at Kol, wondering if she was reading it right.

"This spell moves the planets," she said staring up at him in awe. "I mean this spell - I can't be reading it right, you think I can cast this?"

Kol grinned ruefully. "I know you can. I've seen you in action. You have raw power all you are missing is some formal training."

"And a coven," Bonnie said knowing what he wasn't saying.

"Covens are useful for a myriad of reasons such as shared power however, Bennetts ordinarily do not need that. They remain solitary, flaunting their power and travelling from coven to coven, teaching what they know."

"I don't know, Kol. I tired out faster than the other witches when we fought Klaus."

"Because you didn't have a shared power with the coven and the other witches weren't watching your back. You raced headlong into battle, little witch," he said stroking her throat in a lingering way. "With some formal training, your casting will be more focused and you will outlast any coven."

"How do I do that? I've been practicing for months and I don't feel like I am getting any stronger."

"It takes time and patience," Kol hummed. "Might I suggest some meditation?"

"Wow, when does the fun start again?"

"Haven't you heard? Witches and warlocks always get the short end of the stick."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You have told me that like five times in the past month, Kol. I get it, it sort of sucks."

"Of course, it does. Vampires trying to take advantage of you, only serving mother nature. Never getting to act on your selfish desires without fear of retribution from nature or the spirits, it's a pain. You have all that power yet you are burdened by your moral obligations."

Bonnie rolled her eyes again. "Not all of us have a problem with morals or responsibility."

"Careful, little witch you don't want to grow old before your time."

"What language is this?" Bonnie asked flipping the page to the original spell. "It almost looks Greek."

"You speak Greek?"

"Not really, but I've seen it in some of your other grimoires."

"Pity, that would be impressive," Kol teased and drew her into his arms. "It's Aramaic."

"Let me guess, that's the language I have to cast the spell in," Bonnie groaned. "Perfect."

"I'll help you with the pronunciation. I'm fluent."

"Hey, is there a spell to learn any language you need for a spell or something?"

Kol looked thoughtful. He picked up her hand and splayed her palm open. Gently, he traced patterns on the inside of her hand and warmth spread from everywhere he touched her. He stroked further out to her fingertips and back in again.

"I don't believe there is. Here," Kol said sitting behind her. He wrapped his legs around her waist. He trailed his fingertips along her bare arms and she shivered. "Repeat after me as you do feel your magic rise inside of you."

"Don't I need any tools or an offering?"

"No," Kol put his head on her shoulder. "This spell runs purely on the will and strength of the witch. All you have to do is close your eyes and will it into being. If you feel yourself weakening or faltering, reach for me, draw on me."

"Draw on you?"

Bonnie had only other channeled witches and warlocks. And she had no idea if anything similar was even possible with a vampire, but Kol sounded so certain.

"Yes, you reach out with your mind and you feel my energy, you pull it into yourself and use it to channel the spell."

Bonnie closed her eyes and tried. It was easy enough to feel Kol's aura. He was ancient and strong, it was a heady mix. It was like touching a live wire and she could sense the magic that fueled him, had created him. Mingled with that magic and power was death.

Pulling his strength to her and combining it with her magic turned out to be more difficult. She kept stuttering and losing her footing whenever she drew it in. It was the death part of his aura, it threw her for a curveball.

Kol ran his hands along her arms, sending a shiver down her spine. Electricity sparked underneath her skin and she leaned back against him. Her back rested against his chest.

"That's it, little witch," Kol coaxed. "Breathe through it and keep pulling my aura into yours until we are one."

Bonnie kept going. Her hands landed on his knees and she clung to him. The added physical contact helped and soon his aura was mixed with hers. She could feel his strength added to her magic. It was a heady blend and she stifled a moan. Her magic roared to life and she felt the extra power.

Was this what being in a coven felt like?

Kol started to read the words from the grimoire. His tone of voice was patient and she felt more confident in her casting, just knowing he was guiding her, teaching her. She was always hungry to learn more magic and no matter how much she learned or how much she grew as a witch, she wanted _more_. Sometimes, she thought she could study magic for an eternity and never be sated.

Bonnie repeated the words and she envisioned the eclipse. They were facing the window and as soon as the eclipse took effect or didn't take effect depending on how the spell went, they would know.

Her magic roared and a light perspiration broke out on her body. Her voice rose in tandem with Kol's. His hands traced patterns on her skin, coaxing and encouraging her as she cast it. The more he touched her, the more insistent his touch grew. Alongside this, her feeling of drawing on his energy to cast the spell increased. She could feel Kol's very essence and she felt dampness pooling between her legs.

It felt like something burst out of her chest and she cried out. Her eyes flew open and she looked up at the sky. A full eclipse covered the sun.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"You did it," Kol said in an awed voice. "You are incredible, little witch."

He ran his fingertips down the length of her arms. She turned her face up to his and he captured her lips in his in a breathtaking kiss. A thrill went through her as she realized where this was leading.

Bonnie broke away and nuzzled on his throat.

"You're sexy when you do the whole teacher thing," she murmured kissing his throat.

Kol slid his hand inside of her tank top. His fingers pushed aside her bra and cupped her breast. He squeezed and massaged from above. She fell back against him and moaned. Heat spread through her from his touch and she could feel herself starting to grow damp.

Her head fell against his shoulder as he worked. Seeming to grow impatient and frustrated with her, he tangled his fingers into her hair at the nape of her neck. He massaged the back of her neck. His grip on her hair tightened and he tilted her head back as he kissed his way down her throat. His other hand was still on her breast and he pinched her nipple. She cried out and he soothed the ache with a gentle caress of his fingers.

He pushed her onto her back. His touch was scorching and filled with heat as he used his vampire speed to undress her. Bonnie blushed when she realized she lay naked sprawled in front of him. His eyes roamed her figure filled with lust and she grew damp. Her core throbbed and she rubbed her thighs together in anticipation of what was to come.

Kol winked at her and slid two fingers inside of her. Bonnie reached out to try to undress him and he took her wrists in his hand. He pinned her arms over her head on the floor. All the while, his hand kept up his ministrations. His thumb circled her clit and he added a third finger. She moaned and squirmed as he filled her.

Bonnie rolled her eyes hips and moved with his hand. With each thrust, Kol pushed his fingers deeper into her. Sweat beaded on her forehead and heat was coursing through her. There was a quickening low in her stomach and she could feel herself starting to wind tighter.

Kol lowered himself and put his lips on her sex. She gasped as he took all of her in his mouth, while his hand was still pumping. She writhed trying to get loose and he tightened his grip on her wrist. That touch of pain was delicious.

"Kol," she moaned.

He kept going, pinning her down and mouth on her sex until a quickening began low in her stomach. It continued until she saw stars and colors danced behind her eyelids. She shattered and came with a cry.

XXX

Kai had tracked down the ascendant. His father kept under several wards in his office. The thing was, Kai was more than capable of cracking all of them including the blood spell. Joshua was so truly arrogant, he had no idea all of his children could easily break into his office.

Fool.

Over the years, Joshua had attempted to teach Kai many lessons. However, there was one that Joshua had never thought to teach him because it was one he had never learned himself. The lesson was simple and one day soon, it would be Joshua's own downfall.

Never underestimate an opponent or assume you are untouchable.

Kai studied the chest trying to work out the best way to make it appear as if the ascendant were still in place. There was always the risk that his father would notice it was missing.

At the same time, part of him wondered if it wasn't better if he swiped the ascendant at the last minute. Yet that was risky as well. If he left it too late, he might miss his window or risk his father getting suspicious and adding additional spells. Potentially ones, he couldn't crack.

The solution came to Kai like a bolt of lightning.

 **Thank you all so much for your continued patience. I am starting to get my time-management skills up to date so hopefully my updates will be roughly bi-weekly or so for each fic. That said, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Let me know what you thought about Bonnie and Kai scheming together. As well as what was your favorite part of the chapter?**

 **As for those of you who have requested drabbles on tumblr, I'm working on them. And I'm excited to start posting. I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr.**

 **Izzy**


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

Bonnie sat down at the kitchen table in Kol's apartment. Her Grams, Rebekah, Kol, Elijah, Nick, Cassie and even Kai were all there. It was their meeting to plan the details of how to bring down Joshua and Black John. Celestia had not been invited although the rest of the New England coven should have been there. But they had deemed it too suspicious when Black John and Joshua were no doubt watching them. Bonnie's cousin Lucy had put in a surprise appearance.

Lucy was sitting next to her at the counter and chatting happily with her. The others were in the living room, checking out the white oak stake. Bonnie suspected Kol might attempt to steal it from Kai and she couldn't say she blamed him.

But for right now, Bonnie wasn't worrying about vampire business or either Kol and Kai. Instead, she was enjoying some quality time with a relative of hers.

Lucy was not at all what she had expected. Bonnie herself preferred a more laidback bohemian look or something more casual, but living with Rebekah had slowly changed that. Instead of her usual casual outfits, she found herself being bullied into wearing a classier, cleaner look. One she found she greatly enjoyed. Something more like the outfits Katherine wore, but not quite.

Her cousin on the other hand was one hundred percent rocker chick. It wasn't a style Bonnie usually liked, but Lucy made it look cool. She wore her hair in a big afro that bounced every time she moved. Mostly because she had braids along the side of her head that kept the natural curls out of her face. Her eyes were lined with black and her lips were painted burgundy.

She wore ripped black jeans that had more holes in them than fabric. This was paired with an ACDC T-shirt and a spiked black belt. Even now when the weather was getting colder, she wore black stiletto boots that came to her knees. Her fingers were covered in silver rings and her wrists were packed with silver bangles that jingled pleasantly every time she moved her arms.

"It's so cool to finally meet you," Lucy said with a bright smile.

"You too," Bonnie said meaning it. "Grams says you live in New York?"

"For now," Lucy replied her dark eyes dancing with mischief. I never really live in one place for more than few months at a time."

"That sounds amazing."

Before all she wanted was to return to Mystic Falls. Now, nothing could be further from the truth. She was desperate to finish high school so that she could travel the world with Rebekah and Kol.

Bonnie and Kol stayed up late at night, talking about all of the places they would go. Kol had a list of all the places he wanted to show her and she had an equally long list of all the places, she wanted to see. Too bad it was never going to happen. Her cousin was definitely living the life and Bonnie hated to admit it, but she was jealous.

"It is," Lucy's smile was predatory. "You should come with me, cuz."

"As much as I'd love to, I have to finish high school first."

"Right," Rebekah drawled as she entered the kitchen. Graceful as ever she sat down across from them. "About that, perhaps Kol or I should simply compel you a diploma? After all, soon enough all of this ugliness with Black John and the Geminis will be over with."

"Thanks to Kai and the New Englanders," Lucy said slowly. "Your Grams told me everything. And I get why the New Englanders are game, but what about Kai? What's his angle?"

"I've wondered the same thing," Rebekah said giving Bonnie a squinty-eyed look.

Bonnie shrugged. "He hates his dad."

Lucy's full lips pursed into a thin line. "And?"

"I agree," Rebekah said flashing a friendly smile at Lucy. "It does seem rather flimsy motivation, does it not?"

"What else is he getting out of it?" Lucy demanded.

"He gets to merge early," Bonnie said.

"Does Kol know about this?" Rebekah said her nostrils flaring.

Bonnie knew what that was about. Kol didn't trust Kai around Bonnie for two reasons.

One, Kai had a thing for Bonnie and up until recently, they had been a thing.

Two, Kai was desperate to become to the next leader of the Gemini coven. Kol assumed it was because he was as power hungry as his father and he knew once Kai had that level of power, he would do anything to get whatever else he wanted.

Bonnie thought maybe she was naïve, but she didn't think the only reason Kai wanted to become coven leader was power. She suspected it was as much for survival as anything else. Bonnie had lived in his house. She had felt the tension there firsthand and she could easily imagine Kai suspected Joshua planned to kill him. Maybe it was all the time, she had spent with Kol and Kai, but she didn't think it was a coincidence Joshua had an extra set of twins.

"Yes, Kol knows and he's not happy about it, but there isn't much we can do. Jo refuses to help and Kai will only help if he gets something out of it."

"And it's not as if we can control the Gemini coven," Lucy said. "If Kai wants to merge that's their business. We can't meddle in the Geminis affairs and neither can we demand they remain leaderless."

"Exactly," Bonnie said relieved her cousin understood at least.

"I don't like it. He tried to murder Kol, twice," Rebekah said and her lips pursed into a thin line.

"Yeah, I don't either," Bonnie said then she opted for a flat out lie. It was the same one she had given Kol. "But once he is leader, he will annul the deal my Grams made with Joshua."

"Assuming he can be trusted," Rebekah snorted.

"Gorgeous, what's your take on this Kai fellow?" Lucy asked leaning forward to wink at Rebekah.

Rebekah flushed and Bonnie bit down on a smile. She hadn't known Lucy was – assuming she wasn't just teasing. Was she teasing? No, no way. Bonnie didn't talk to her friends like that.

"I think he is a lunatic," Rebekah said. "Worse than any of my brothers."

Bonnie laughed. In her mind's eye, she saw Kol's reaction to her comment and it was adorable.

"Get in here already," Kai said materializing in the doorway.

Bonnie tensed. Had he heard her lies? Not that it mattered she supposed. Kai had promised she could tell Kol in her own time and on her own terms.

"Are we scheming already?" Rebekah said looking at Kai like he was something nasty at the bottom of her shoe.

"Always," Kai grinned. "C'mon Bunny."  
"It's Bonnie," she complained, but she followed Kai into the living room.

Together, the group made a plan. One that would lure Black John into striking. They had all agreed, the best way to do this was to pretend they didn't care about him and throw a party after enough time had passed it would no longer be suspicious.

XXX

Rebekah went to her favorite bar in Portland the next afternoon. Kol and Bonnie were spending time alone and she was bored.

The bar was large and the bar itself stretched throughout the room. Behind it the shelves were well-lit and fully stocked. There was a dance floor as well as a VIP section. She saw a pool table where several teens had already gathered.

She was hoping the familiarity of the bar, a drink and perhaps a human boy to fuck and drain would improve her mood. Unfortunately, she didn't see anyone even halfway appetizing. And it was almost empty. Even the bartender was old and homely.

Sighing, Rebekah downed her martini and ordered a new one. The bartender whipped it up for her. She snatched a bottle of vodka from behind the bar.

"Thank you. You make the best cocktails in town."

"Thank you, Miss," the bartender replied with a glazed smile.

Rebekah had compelled him earlier in the week and she downed her martini before starting to drink vodka straight from the bottle.

"Well if that isn't a pitiful sight," Lucy said with laughter in her voice.

Rebekah looked over and saw the young witch had sat down next to her. Her perfume came with it. The scent of oranges and vanilla, underneath that, the fragrance of Lucy's blood. Rebekah inhaled, closing her eyes. It was nearly enough for her to flash fangs like a baby vampire.

"Don't suppose I could have a taste of you?" Rebekah said before she could stop herself. She blushed faintly.

Lucy smirked and it was evil.

My how, interesting it would seem goody-goody Bonnie's cousin was a bad girl and Rebekah wasn't surprised in that outfit. Lucy had blue highlights in her hair, which was up in two big, messy space buns.

She was wearing a sheer tank top that showed off her stomach. The only reason, Rebekah couldn't see her nipples was because she had black taped over them in the shape of an X. Over top of it she had a large blue bomber jacket and a pair of light denim jeans with army boots. Lucy definitely looked like a girl, who was looking for trouble.

"Maybe if you say please?"

Rebekah was floored. More often than not, witches simply gave her an aneurism whenever she requested a taste of their blood. Lucy's eyes were filled with heat and Rebekah was under the impression, she would rather like it.

"Please," Rebekah said and much to her own surprise, her voice was breathy.

Lucy's smirk broadened. "I wasn't serious, vampire."

"Pity," Rebekah's lips turned down into a pout. "I'm famished and no one here looks even a little appetizing."

Lucy looked around and shrugged. "I see your point."

"At least someone understands."

"Maybe I can buy you a drink?"

"Certainly."

Lucy eyed the vodka sitting next to her drink and chuckled. "Although it looks like you have that covered as well."

Rebekah laughed. "I'm sick of Portland, what's a girl to do?"

"I could think of a thing or two," Lucy replied letting her gaze travelled from Rebekah's toes to her lips in a way that made the vampire feel entirely naked. "I know a few places worth visiting."

"I doubt that," Rebekah said snorting and turning her nose up. "I've been alive for a millennia. If you can find something I haven't seen before I'll say I'm impressed."

Lucy gestured for the bartender and ordered them two scotch on the rocks. Then she put her elbow on the bar and chin in her hand. She leaned forward and her brown eyes danced with amusement.

"Tell me, what's the wildest thing you have done?"

Rebekah thought about it. She pursed her lips and was ashamed to think, she hadn't done much aside from fight for her life, party and shop. It occurred to her then and she flashed a wicked smile. One that was soon mirrored on Lucy's face.

"Well," Rebekah said coyly. "There was this one time in Italy I uhm," she blushed. "Promise you won't judge."

"I'd never, gorgeous."

Lucy put her hand on Rebekah's thigh. Her touch was firm and confident. Rebekah had to admit, she was caught off guard. Lucy was forward in a way that was beyond her years. Perhaps what was even more surprising was that Rebekah found she didn't mind.

It might have simply been the alcohol talking, but Lucy's lips looked rather inviting. Her scent was heavenly and Rebekah had to close her eyes to keep her fangs under control.

XXX

Rebekah had been surprised when Lucy invited her over to eat dinner and watch a movie. It was strange because she didn't have a lot of friends. Especially not ones that were girls. Having been the only girl in a group of boys growing up, she'd never had much use for female companionship. Except every now and then, she allowed herself to think about how nice it must be to be one of those girls with lots of friends.

The gossip.

The shopping.

The close bonds as they whispered secrets.

The unconditional love and support for their friends that girls were much better at than boys.

That was why, Rebekah was actually rather excited about hanging out with Lucy. They had ordered Chinese food and had settled in on Lucy's couch with their dinner and scary movies.

"Where is your brother and my cousin tonight?" Lucy asked between mouthfuls of mushu pork.

"Probably making moon eyes at each other. It's disgusting."

"I can't believe you live with a couple that has got to be a nightmare."

"Oh, it is," Rebekah said with a laugh. "How long are you staying for?"

"Not long," Lucy shrugged. "I Airbnb'ed the place."

"Clever."

Rebekah actually had no idea what Airbnb was however, she didn't want her new friend to think she was old.

"It is unless Joshua Parker figures out there is a witch in Portland, who doesn't belong to his coven. In that case, I am toast."

"Best be discrete then."

Lucy flashed a smile that was all teeth. "Not what I do best, but I plan to try."

XXX

"This dress is ridiculous, Bekah," Bonnie said turning around and surveying herself.

"What's wrong with it?" Rebekah huffed.

Bonnie eyed the dress dubiously. Rebekah followed her gaze. The dress came to just below her bum. It had spaghetti straps and it was black with pink flowers and green leaves. The midriff was sheer and bosom was covered by a built-in pushup bra. 

"It's too skimpy and it's kind of skanky, don't you think?"

"Are you seriously slutshaming yourself right now?" Rebekah said with a serious look at her. "Honestly, Bon. I didn't get dirty looks for wearing trousers so that you could turn your nose up at your choice to wear whatever you want."

Bonnie scowled at her. "You are not seriously trying to use feminism to get me to wear a dress that's basically dental floss."

"It's sexy," Rebekah smirked.

Bonnie saw Rebekah was about to bully her into this outfit and she also knew Rebekah would not let up until she got her way. But she had an idea that would put a stop to this once and for all.

"Kol will freak out if I wear this in public."

"Who cares about my brother? Besides, sometimes a little jealousy is sexy."

Bonnie put her face in her hands.

"If I get the dress can we please go for dinner already? I'm starving to death."

"Tell me about it," Rebekah agreed flashing fang.

Bonnie shook her head. She paid for the dress using Kol's credit card. They had a plan to lure Black John to them and a party was the perfect solution. Kol had offered to buy her a fancy dress and Rebekah had spent the whole day taking advantage of his credit card. Now her and Bonnie had entirely new wardrobes and several pieces of jewelry. Bonnie felt guilty about it, but Rebekah had bullied her into accepting the items. Saying what was the point of living for an eternity and collecting a fortune, if you never spent any of it?

They left the store and got in Rebekah's new red Maserati. It still had that new car smell and the leather seats were incredible. Bonnie grinned and she settled back into the seat.

Rebekah revved the engine and sped off at a speed Bonnie knew instantly was way over the speed limit.

"If I die in a Portland car crash, I'm going to haunt you."

Rebekah laughed. "What a pity after you left Mystic Falls."

"Ugh, don't remind me of that awful prophecy."

Rebekah parked as dangerously as she drove in the underground parking of Kol's building. It took all of her levitation skills and Rebekah's vampire strength to carry all of their bags upstairs. Rebekah used her foot to open the door to Kol's apartment.

"My, girls someone was on a tear," Kol said with a smirk as he sauntered out of the living room. "Did you two buy out every shop in Portland?"

"Why are you such an ass?" Rebekah scoffed.

"Hey, Kol. Some help would be nice," Bonnie said giving him the evil eye.

"Not to be rude, but I thought my contribution was my credit card?"

"You would think so, but no. You're not done yet," Rebekah said flinging a couple of bags at him.

Chuckling, Kol caught them. He wandered off to put things away in their bedroom. Bonnie trailed him into their bedroom with the bags levitating in front of her.

"That's a neat trick, little witch," Kol grinned. "What did the humans make of it?"

Bonnie grinned and shook her head. "Obviously, I didn't do this in front of normal people. Are you ready for the party tonight?"

"Yes, Nate assures me everything is in order."

"Nate?" Bonnie asked with a furrowed brow. She was completely exasperated when she realized he meant Nick. "Would it kill you to get his name right?"

Kol flashed a dazzling smile and Bonnie tried not to think about how she had gone through the exact same problem with Kai. That was how she got the nickname Bunny. And Kai had even been so brave or stupid that he called Kol for Collin until they became friends.

Distantly, Bonnie wondered what Kai called Kol now. He still called her Bunny and it made her ache because it reminded her how much she used to like him. Used to trust him and want to be with him.

And he had betrayed her. Yet it was her fault, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"You alright there, little witch?"

Flustered, Bonnie nodded. "I'm fine. Just worried about tonight."

"Kol get out," Rebekah announced as she strode into the room.

"Why? It's my room."

"We are getting ready and the manicurist should be here any moment. Along with the rest of the beauty team, do be a love and let them in, won't you?"

Kol nodded and left. He gave Bonnie a quick kiss on the lips first.

Bonnie sat down on the couch in Kol's room. Rebekah wasted no time in going through all of the bags. She was getting everything organized, gushing about Bonnie's new look and how she really should allow Rebekah to style her permanently.

"Uh, Bekah," Bonnie said slowly. "Are you trying to say you hate the way I dress?"

"Ever so much," Rebekah said with feeling then shot Bonnie a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, darling, but it's true. The only times, I've seen you in anything remotely acceptable is when Kai's sister chooses your outfit. Or when I choose your outfit."

"Oh my God."

Bonnie was insulted and she had more to say, but just then their beauty team flocked in. Rebekah clapped her hands and ordered everyone around.

Moments later Bonnie was relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine while the hair stylist got to work on her hair. There was no mirror so Bonnie had no way of knowing what she was doing beyond that there was a lot of tugging as she pulled her hair into rollers.

Next to her, Rebekah had her feet on the coffee tables as she typed away on her phone. The hair stylist working on her hair was also pulling her hair up into rollers.

"Is this what you normally do before a party?" Bonnie only asked because it seemed ridiculously extravagant.

"Of course not," Rebekah scoffed. "Frequently I go in to a beauty parlor."

Bonnie grinned and shook her head. "Who are you bringing as your date?"

"Does it matter? It isn't a party, it's a trap," Rebekah said with a cool glance out of the corner of her eye.

"I still want to know, who you are bringing."

Rebekah shrugged. "No one in particular."

"Really?"

"Really," Rebekah said smiling in a way that made her look like she should be flashing fang. "Your cousin and I agreed to go stag, together."

Bonnie grinned. "I love it. The two of you will cause so much trouble."

"Before we inevitably follow through on the plan," Rebekah agreed with a wicked smile.

XXX

Three hours later and Rebekah arrived at the party with Lucy. They were there ahead of Bonnie and Kol, whom Rebekah assumed had been sidetracked thanks to Bonnie's sexy new look.

Speaking of sexy, Lucy was a knock-out. Tonight Lucy's hair hung free down her back and she wore electric blue leather pants with a black crop top. The thing that made the outfit truly sexy in Rebekah's opinion was the thigh high stilettos in black. As well as the studded black leather belt.

Lucy put her hand on Rebekah's lower back and led her toward the bar. People were everywhere and the music was loud, but Lucy's touch was reassuring. She shot a pinch of magic into Rebekah's spine and she gasped. It crashed through her, leaving a tingle between her legs.

Was Lucy flirting with her?

Rebekah had wondered all week and now she felt almost certain the witch was.

"We should get you a drink, gorgeous," Lucy said.

She waved to the bartender and ordered two cocktails. She slid the money across the till as Rebekah stood there completely bewildered. She wasn't even accustomed to men taking the lead, let alone another woman. After a millennia of Nik bossing her about, she found she didn't care for it. Yet when Lucy passed her a gin and tonic, a grateful smile parted her lips.

"Thank you."

Lucy put her arm around her waist and pulled Rebekah to her. She was startled and blushed, but nonetheless leaned into the other woman. Lucy's frame was slimmer than hers, but she was just as tall. Lucy's breasts brushed against hers and it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Quite contrary, the feel of Lucy's body pressed against hers stirred something inside of her.

XXX

Bonnie was trying to fend Kol off. Without much success. He had her pinned to the wall and her wrists were manacled above her head. When he had seen her in her new dress, he had completely lost his cool. Instead of his usual polished calm, he had pinned her to the wall and assaulted her mouth.

Not that Bonnie didn't understand. She had to admit the outfit Rebekah had bullied her into was all kinds of sexy. Bonnie's hair was done in big loose curls. Her lips were painted red and her eyes were lined with a heavy-handed eyeliner. The dress was definitely skimpier than the outfits she ordinarily wore.

Now he was kissing his way down her throat. His fingers scratched along her inner thigh, which ignited a fire deep within her core.

"K-Kol," she stuttered her head falling back against the wall. "We have a plan. We need to go."

Exactly what that plan was, Bonnie couldn't remember. It was tough to keep track of what they were meant to do as Kol's hand slid underneath her dress and dipped inside of her panties. His fingers slid once along her slit. It was a firm, deliberate gesture that made colors dance behind her eyes.

Kol nipped at her pulse line and raised his head just enough to speak against her skin. His voice rumbled against her skin and shuddered.

"Do we?"

"Kol please," she panted aware she was so wanton with lust her last bit of self-restraint would crumble any second. "I'll make it up to you later-" two of his fingers slid inside of her and she gasped. "But we have to go."

Kol raised his head and his mouth was on hers. He ravaged her in a rough kiss that made her head spin and colors explode behind her eyelids. A quickening started low in her stomach and in the next instant, she was certain she was going to cum. She could feel herself teetering on the precipice and with a smug expression, Kol withdrew. She whimpered in complaint. He nipped her at lower lip and she blushed when she felt how it swelled up.

"I'll hold you to that, little witch."

His words held wicked promise.

Just when she thought Kol would release her, he nipped at her throat as well. She gasped and struggled against his hold. She refrained from using magic because she knew Kol would let her go as soon as she asked. In spite of her better judgement, she trusted him.

He released her wrists. She touched her neck and it was warm. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Did you leave a mark?"

"Of course not," Kol said with an innocent smile.

But she relaxed. Kol could be immature, but he wouldn't stoop as low as marking her. Not even if it meant annoying Kai.

Kol held out his hand for her and they left for the bar.

When they arrived the party was already in full swing. She spotted Cassie and Nick in a corner by the music. It looked like Nick was the DJ. A cigarette hung from the corner of his lips and he grinned at them. Cassie waved.

Even from at a distance she admired Cassie's outfit. Cassie's curly dark hair was up in a sleek bun. She wore a simple peach colored dress that hugged her figure. It had a sweetheart neckline, spaghetti straps and it flared out just a little at the waist. The color was amazing against Cassie's pale skin. It brought out the cream color of her skin. That contrasted greatly with the dark burgundy lipstick she wore with the outfit.

"Let's get a drink, little witch."

Kol took her hand and led her toward the bar. Bonnie spied Rebekah and Lucy. Lucy's arms were wrapped protectively around Rebekah as she drew the blonde to her. Bonnie couldn't help, but gape. This was the last thing she had expected to see.

Kol ordered from the bar. He followed her gaze and his eyes widened in shock when Lucy kissed Rebekah and the vampire kissed her back.

"Did you know about this?" Bonnie said looking at Kol.

Judging by his expression, he didn't.

"No, in over a thousand years, I've never as much as suspected Bekah might swing that way," Kol said recovering from the worst of his shock.

"Guess you never know about people," Bonnie said starting to see the humor in the situation. "Oh my God, my cousin is hooking up with your sister. Oh my God," she giggled.

Kol laughed. "Apparently, I am not the only Mikaelson, who finds you Bennett witches alluring."

The bartender passed them their drinks. Bonnie took her strawberry daquiri. Kol had a scotch neat as always. She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him over to the music where he promptly started arguing with Nick about his taste in music.

Bonnie ignored the boys and sat down next to Cassie. Cassie slipped her arm through hers and put her head on her shoulder.

"Are you sure this will work?" Cassie whispered.

"The others are cloaked and waiting," Bonnie said quietly glancing up at the ceiling. "Kai will lure Black John here."

"He better and I don't trust him," Cassie muttered. She kept darting shifty looks around the room, revealing how ill at ease she truly was.

"Speak of the devil," Bonnie said when she saw Kai walk through the front door.

She noticed he was alone. And a small nasty part of her brain whispered how sinfully good he looked. Made her aware of how her heart rate spiked and her blood sang at just the sight of him.

Damn him, but did he ever look good. Kai was wearing black jeans with his boots. He wore a black band T-shirt that had some kind of white logo on it. He wore a silver chain around his throat and his fingers were covered with Sanskrit rings. To top it off, he was wearing a black leather jacket too. Bonnie had always loved men in leather jackets.

Kai didn't even look around the room. Somehow, his eyes landed on her immediately. In the next instant, she felt his gaze on her. It was pure instinct. The hairs at the nape of her neck rose to attention and she found herself unable to tear her gaze away from him.

Kai smirked and stalked toward her. He prowled through the crowd easily and people moved out of his way as if sensing he wasn't someone to cross.

"Bonnie my sweet," Kol said drawing her out of her trance. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting Kai yet," she stuttered.

Kol nodded, but there was a darkness in his eyes that told her, he didn't believe her. She felt a guilty pang in her stomach knowing Kol had caught her checking Kai out. If it had been any other guy, it probably wouldn't have bothered her. But with Kai there was history.

Before they could get into it, Kai was standing in front of them. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaned back on his heels and gave Bonnie a wicked smile.

"Hey, Bunny. You look totally sexy as always," Kai said biting down on his lower lip. Before he had betrayed her that gesture might have driven her wild. "Collin."

"Malachai," Kol growled.

He leaned forward menacingly and she grabbed his wrist. Kol shot her an annoyed look, but he restrained himself from attacking Kai, which was all that mattered for now.

They didn't have the time or the magic to waste on squabbles between themselves when they were here to take down Black John.

Kai eyed her throat and his eyes went from blue to black. He snarled almost as if he was bearing fangs.

"Letting Kol take a bite out of you now? Where's your pride?"

Bonnie's hand went to her neck automatically. "It's not a bite."

Stupid Kol. She should never have believed him and from now on, she was always checking her appearance out in the mirror after a make out session.

"Obviously," Kol interjected. "If we bloodshared I would heal her. That's from other trysts, you wouldn't know anything about."

Kai's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared. Bonnie nudged Kol with her elbow. Sweat started to bead on her forehead. If Kai was even half as riled up as she suspected he was, he might do something stupid. Like try to kill Kol again or blurt out the deal she had made with him.

"Kai," Bonnie said in a cautioning tone of voice. "Kol. Don't. We're here to have fun, remember?"

God, she hoped they knew fun was code for plan. Once they had killed Black John and sent Joshua to a prison world, they could deal with everything else. Like their petty rivalry.

"I can multitask," Kai said.

"As can I," Kol said staring threateningly at Kai. "And you had best run for cover, little boy."

"Enough," Bonnie groaned. "This is not happening right now."

"I think it is," Kol said just as Kai said. "Oh, it's happening."

Bonnie saw Kai take a step toward Kol. She grabbed Kai's wrist and dragged him away with her. She could feel Kol seething behind her, but she had Kai under control. And out of the two of them, he was the most likely to do something impulsive that could blow the whole thing. She had seen before how he snuck his own personal vendetta into important matters. And she had no idea why, but she wasn't going to let him jeopardize tonight.

Bonnie let go when they were by the bar. She threw up a quick privacy spell then she whirled on Kai.

"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed.

Kai's gaze was ice cold and she knew instantly he was furious.

"Me? We had a deal!"

"You deliver then I go through with my end."

Kai's eyes were narrow slits like snakes. "And how do I know you won't go back on your word? Your Grams had a deal with my dad and the two of you plan to double-cross him and screw him over royally."

"Because I gave you my word, which I didn't give Joshua."

Bonnie was totally lying. She had no intentions of going through with this and just imagining it made her stomach ache.

"Oh, I see how it is," Kai smirked and it was pure evil. "You think you can sweet talk me into believing you. But here's the thing, I don't. And I don't trust you or your bloodsucking boyfriend, Bunny."

"Then what do you want? What more can I possibly do?"

"Tell Kol what we agreed on."

Bonnie felt her blood run cold. If Kol knew what she had promised, he would kill Kai now. Then they would never get the ascendant. Of course, there was an equally good chance Kol would kill the entire Gemini coven by killing Joshua just to protect her from him. And if she were a different kind of person, she might be OK with that, but she wasn't.

"Not until it's done. Not unless you want Kol to murder you."

"Or try to."

"Kai," Bonnie said barely resisting the urge to stomp her foot. "What am I supposed to do here? Tell me."

Kai raised an eyebrow and finally there was some light back in his eyes. He smirked, tilting his chin down and giving her a heated look as he bit down on his bottom lip.

"Anything?"

"Oh my God, I'm going to regret this, but probably as long as it gets this done."

Bonnie had a horrible feeling about this, but if they didn't do something Black John was going to come for the Originals. And then he would forcibly drag Bonnie back to the Geminis and Cassie would be trapped in Black John's evil coven. Along with all of the other New England witches and warlocks. Unless Kol just killed Black John and the whole Gemini coven, which included a lot of Bonnie's friends.

"Swear a blood oath."

If Bonnie had thought her blood ran cold earlier, it was nothing compared to now. Now it was frozen to ice.

"A-a –a bloodoath?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem is it?" Kai asked coyly. "I mean if you are going through with this for realsies then making a magical promise shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Right," she said. "When do you want to do this?"

"Now. No time like the present."

Kol was stalking toward them. His eyes flashed menacingly.

"Kol is coming this way."

"Meet me in the girl's bathroom."

Kai cloaked himself and disappeared. Bonnie waited for Kol to reach her and just as she had suspected he was fuming.

"What the bloody hell, little witch?"

Bonnie grimaced. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he snarled. "You left with Kai and don't think I didn't notice how the two of you whisper together. What are you plotting?"  
"N-nnothing."

Kol's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Don't lie to me, Bonnie."

"I'm not lying," she said feeling herself starting to run scared. If she didn't tread exactly right Kol would not know the deal she had made with Kai. And who knew what he would do then? "Kol please, I was just trying to talk him down."

"Talk him down?" Kol's eyes flashed dangerously.

He definitely didn't believe her.

"Yes, we need him," Bonnie said putting as much urgency as she could manage in her voice. "I suppose we do," Kol said rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Pity, but once this is done, I kill him."

Bonnie tensed and nodded.

If Kai was still in the vicinity using his cloaking spell then so much for Kol's plan. He would sneak it into the promise and if she tried to weasel out of it then he would just leave them to it. And killing of Black John didn't do any good unless they also got Joshua out of the way. Otherwise, he would just keep trying to kill the Originals.

But if they threw him in a prison world, good luck to him.

"I have to use the bathroom."

Kol was still eyeing her suspiciously, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he nodded.

Bonnie turned to go when she realized something. If she went through with this, things would end with Kol. Not tonight, but soon and definitely sooner then she would like because right now, she didn't want to break up with him.

Ever.

Instead, she turned back around. She grabbed Kol's face between her hands and kissed him passionately. It was rough and brutal, his arm snaked around her waist and her head spun by the time they broke apart. She was breathing hard and even Kol's usual calm was ruffled.

"What was that for?" he asked winking at her.

"I just really like you."

Kol smirked. "The feeling is mutual, little witch."

Bonnie hurried away. She cast one last look at Kol as the hair fell in his eyes. If she had gazed at him for more than a second, she would never be able to go through with this. Yet she had to. It was for Kol and Rebekah, she needed to take out Joshua as well as herself. Joshua would never stop until he had her in his coven. Kai – well there had to be a way to deal with him that didn't involve her betraying him.

At least Bonnie was banking on it.

Once she was inside the bathroom, she locked the door behind her. She soundproofed the room and magically sealed it. The last thing, she and Kai needed was for someone to stumble onto them as they cast a spell.

"Kai? Are you in here?"

An invisible force grabbed her from behind. The next thing, Bonnie knew she was slammed up against the cold wall. She cried out and mentally castigated herself for locking and soundproofing the room.

"KAI!" she screamed.

The sound of Kai's chuckle came first followed by his figure. He had uncloaked himself and he smirked at her. There was fire in his ordinarily cold blue eyes and there was something evil about his smirk that made a shiver run down his spine. His hands were still on her shoulders, keeping her pinned to the wall. All the while, Bonnie was painfully aware he could siphon her at any moment if he chose and she would be helpless.

"You spook easy, Bunny," Kai whispered in her ear.

His warm breath fanned her skin and she closed her eyes. Up close like this, she could feel the warmth from his body and smell the familiar fragrance of his cologne. As frightened as she was, it was difficult to remember _why_ she was scared.

Instead, Bonnie found herself fighting the urge to lean into his warmth. It didn't help matters that she could feel the electric hum of magic radiating from his silver rings. Kai always wore several on both hands and she knew it was emergency magic. Like keeping a spare tire in the car in case of a flat.

But all of these thoughts were confusing and she shook them off. Bonnie met his gaze with a cold fury of her own. She shoved him and felt how he laughed as he pushed her back up against the wall.

"You jerk!" she snarled.

"Easy there," Kai laughed. "I just wanted to touch you."

He ran his hands down her bare arms and she pretended not to notice the trail of goosebumps that appeared in the wake of his hand.

"Well I don't want you to."

"Don't you?" he was whispering in her ear again. "I missed you, Bonster. Did you miss me?"

Bonnie closed her eyes, giving in to temptation for just a second. Because the sad truth was, she had missed Kai. Things were great with Kol, but a part of her had always missed Kai. Maybe always would.

Stupidly, she had allowed herself to believe they had a connection. Now she knew it was just because they were witch and warlock. And missing Kai because of that wasn't fair to Kol. If he'd had his way, he'd still be a warlock. Instead, he was forced to sit on the sidelines, unable to do magic. The closest he could come was teach her spells.

"Kai -"Bonnie breathed. She had no idea what she had meant to say. Maybe nothing, maybe she just wanted to say his name.

Kai's fingers touched the spot on her neck where Kol had marked her. She felt the tingle of magic and she squirmed, needing more. It filled her with heat and made her whole body tingle. She knew without needing to ask, he was healing it. When Kai pressed his palm firmly against her throat a moan tumbled out of her lips.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Www-what question?"

"Did you miss me?"

Bonnie hesitated and for one wild moment, she almost told him 'yes'. Because his hand was still cupping her neck and now he was just lazily pushing magic inside of her. The rhythm was slow and torturous. Having Kai give her magic like this – it felt like a witch's version of sex. And her breath caught in her throat.

That one moment of weakness was enough. Kai's lips brushed hers and she carried out in shock.

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! This was meant to go up on Thursday but I had to work. Sorry about the late update and I have a Chaos update planned for later this week. As always please leave a review and let me know what you thought about this chapter. And are we still shipping bonkai? Because we are so moving that way.**

 **Yes, I did the Lucy and Rebekah thing again. I just couldn't help myself, I ship my crackship. But it won't be a major part of the fic so no worries if you don't ship it. I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to request a bonkai/kennett drabble. To the people, who have already request fics, I am working on them. And loving every second!**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: thank you! I'm thrilled to hear you love the whole chapter. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Guest: Great question and yes, it's going to be a bonkai ending. But the fic is definitely heavily kennett and bonkai. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23**

Bonnie was pressed back against the bathroom wall. Kai had her pinned there, his hands stroked lazy patterns along her arms. With each touch a dose of magic was infused underneath her skin. His forehead rested against hers. Since his first kiss, he hadn't tried anything more.

Instead, she could feel his breath. Their lips were only a hairsbreadth away. So close his breath fanned her face and it was as if they were breathing into each other. But Bonnie knew she couldn't stay paralyzed here for long. If she wasn't back soon, Kol would grow suspicious and come looking for her. As for the rest, Kai was still an evil ass and she still hated him.

"Bonster, you know I protected you that day," Kai whispered. When he spoke, his chest vibrated and she felt the rumble pass through him and into her.

Yup, they were definitely standing way too close.

She groaned and shoved against his shoulders. Kai stumbled backward, he caught himself by landing on one foot and then did this funny little jump to right himself. The move had been sort of predatory and she found it annoying that he so easily brushed aside her attacks.

Maybe if she threw in a little magic next time, he wouldn't be so quick to recover.

"You protected me? How? When you were selling me out to your psycho dad or when you stabbed me in the back by siphoning me? Oh wait, I know, it was when you handed me over to Joshua completely helpless because YOU TOOK ALL OF MY MAGIC!" the volume at which she screamed the last part at caught even Bonnie by surprise. With it, came a rush of power that threw Kai into the wall.

Kai hit the tiled wall with a sickening 'thwack' sound. He slid down and landed on the floor. He wiped his face with his hand and when he looked up at her, she saw pure fury in his eyes.

"You think I wanted that?" Kai snarled and got to his feet. He squared his shoulders and stalked toward her, but this time, she refused to back away. She raised her chin and prepared to face off with him. "Weren't you listening, Bonnie? My survival was on the line and if dear old dad had known how cozy you were getting with both me and Kol? Oh hoho," Kai laughed and it was gloomy.

"What's so funny?"

"He would have killed you," Kai said flatly. There was no emotion or drama in his voice now. He wasn't trying to scare her or manipulate her. He didn't believe there was anything to gain from that.

No, for once, Kai Parker was telling her the cold hard truth.

"Why didn't you just warn me?" Bonnie snapped.

In spite of his so-called chivalry there had to be other ways to protect her. Ones that didn't involve sacrificing her to satiate Joshua Parker's bloodlust.

"Because dummy, you ran off to Mystic Falls and then you complicate shit by snuggling up to Kol. AFTER WHAT WE DID!"

Now, it was Bonnie's turn to be shocked. She took a step back and shook her head. She knew her expression revealed the bewilderment and hurt she felt. And for the first time, she thought maybe Kai was experiencing a modicum of it at least too.

"But - but you -"

"Said I was fine with it?" Kai said and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Bunny, I was playing the long game. Dad offered you to me and a shot at merging early. Which as you know, I knew was bullshit, but I figured playing along would buy me some time. With that I planned to usurp him as coven leader and have you. But here's the thing? You ever wonder why Kol and Rebekah showed up when they did?"

Bonnie remained silent. It was a question, she had asked herself rarely after that night. Mostly because it hadn't really mattered to her. What had mattered was that Kol and Rebekah came to her rescue. But if she had to guess? She would have assumed Jo contacted them. After all, Jo had tried to rescue Bonnie from Joshua even if her attempts had been crappy.

Whereas Kai on the other hand...

Bonnie could still recall the pain as Kai had siphoned her magic. It felt as if every nerve in her body was on fire, like her blood had been replaced by lava as he drained her. And he'd never not once during the whole thing looked like he had second thoughts or even doubts.

What she was thinking must have shown on her face because Kai smirked.

"That's right, Bunny. I texted Kol," Kai said with mockery as he put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Bonnie felt floored. Kol had promised her no more secrets or lies. Yet he was keeping _this_ from her?

"Oh my God," she said feeling stunned. "I need to talk to Kol."

Bonnie tried to get past Kai to the door, but he kept moving to block her. She would go right, he would go right. And so on and until she could have strangled him.

"Where do you think you're going, Bunny?" Kai asked with a heated gaze and a playful smile.

If it had been anyone else that expression might have been loving or warm or even kind, but on Kai? It was equal parts seductive and predatory.

"I am leaving," she growled.

She could feel the last of her patience begin to slip away and along with it her magic was rearing its head. Sparks shot out of her fingertips. He wolf-whistled and chuckled.

"Easy there."

"Shut up! I need to talk to Kol now get out my way before I make you."

"No," Kai said moving toward her. His blue eyes had that dangerous glint again. "Weren't you listening earlier? You swear a blood oath and then you can sort out your problems with your vampire boyfriend."

"Fuck you."

Bonnie tried to shove past him only to find herself shoved back up against the wall. She stopped breathing altogether and stared up at Kai with wide, frightened eyes.

He's a sociopath and you're mouthing off? A small, frantic part of her brain screamed at her.

"Listen, Bonster and listen good because I'm only going to say this once," Bonnie didn't dare breathe. If Kai wanted to, he could easily siphon her and leave her for dead. "I like you. A lot and I want to get with you so swear the damn oath then you can go fuck your vampire boyfriend for all I care until I deliver on my end of the bargain."

Bonnie shook her head. "You know, if you actually cared about someone other than yourself, you wouldn't ask me to do this."

"Oh?" Kai chortled. "Boy, oh, boy am I ever excited to hear the reasoning behind this."

"It's coercion," Bonnie said simply. "You do this and you are essentially forcing me into it. With absolutely no free will or chance of changing things. The old deal? You actually stand a shot at winning me back assuming you get a new personality I might like you again! But now, I'll slowly grow to hate you more and more for forcing my hand. For distrusting me so much you bully me into swearing a blood oath."

"Oh, and before you would have what?"

"Probably still grown to hate you. But it might have been different if you'd made an effort. But now you're screwed. I'll hate you forever and you? You'll get to pleasure of living every single day of the rest of your life knowing you only got me through blackmail and coercion."

Kai grit his teeth together and she knew that meant she had gotten to him.

The wall came apart in a deafening explosion. Debris went everywhere along with large chunks of the wall. Kai grabbed her, diving for cover. His body was on hers and he put his arms up to cover his head.

A second too late, Bonnie realized he was using his body to protect her. Kai didn't have any magic in his system. Acting quickly, she threw up a shield. The golden protective sphere materialized around her and Kai.

The debris fell uselessly on it and bounced away. But a second later, it was no longer needed. Bonnie stopped her casting and pushed Kai off her. They got to their feet and when he grabbed her arm, pulling her to his side, she didn't protest. After all, he had just used himself as a human shield to protect her.

Carefully, they crept toward the bar. Bonnie heard raised voices and spells being thrown back and forth, but she couldn't figure out what was going on until they drew closer.

Black John was early.

He was standing in the center of the bar. He had Cassie in his grip. She was raised high above the others and he was using his magic to suffocate her. Nick hovered on the outskirts looking at once frightened and furious.

And just as useless.

Bonnie understood. Black John had chosen the perfect hostage. Neither the witches or the vampires would risk hurting Cassie – she was friends with everyone. Well, the Originals might, but Kol and Rebekah would be restrained by the fact that Bonnie was friends with Cassie.

Kai yanked Bonnie behind him and shook his head. He gave her a hard look.

"Don't be brave or stupid, okay, Bunny? I know that's kind of your thing, but just don't for tonight, alright?"

Bonnie glowered and had no intentions of listening to him. "Shut up, Kai."

Kai reached for her and she shook off his hands.

"What do you want?" Bonnie asked stepping forward.

As she moved she readied her magic. If Black John wanted a fight, she would give him one. But first she had to make sure Cassie was alright.

Black John turned to her and she knew the instant she had his full attention. How could she do anything else when his dark eyes chilled her to the bone whenever they met?

"Where's the vampire, little girl"? Black John crooned with a sinister smile on his lips.

"I don't know, but put Cassie down."

"What will you do? Kill me?" he laughed.

A shiver ran down Bonnie's spine. Kai reached for her, but again she ignored him.

"Yes. MOTUS!"

Bonnie, who had been silently communicating with Nick using just her eyes for the past several seconds struck. All she could do was hope, he had understood.

Black John went soaring through the air. He hit the wall and it cracked. Nick had done his part and Cassie still hung in the air where Black John had held her, thanks to Nick's quick spellcasting. Nick lowered her to the ground and ran to her, grabbed her hand and pulled her away from there.

Using his magic, Black John propelled himself forward until he was levitating once more at the center of the room.

"Not bad, little girl," Black Jon said with a chuckle. "But can you actually defeat me? Now is your chance as I promised Joshua I would let you live. For now."  
Bonnie raised her fists and the room shook.

"Go ahead, do your worst," she snarled.

Even over the chaos of the walls and roof coming down, Bonnie could hear Black John's mocking laugh.

"Oh, I will take you to him as promised, what fun we shall have."

Black John waved his hand lazily and her spell was cut off. The effect was painful like having a limb severed. He waved his hand again and flames burst up all over the room.

Heat scorched her face and she fell backward. Kai grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back just in the nick of time. A column of fire burst up exactly where she had been standing.

"I thought he wasn't going to kill me," Bonnie said looking up at Kai in amazement.

"Guess he is as psycho as my old man."

A blur ran through the room and Bonnie's heart almost stopped when she realized it was Kol. He ran past her to Black John, knocking into him like a linebacker. Black John went sailing through the air and people gasped.

"Where is your father?" Bonnie demanded. "He was the target."

"Not to state the obvious or anything here, but I'm thinking the old man smelled a trap."

"Crap."

"Crap is right," Kai said with a humorless laugh.

Black John was back on his feet. He raised his hands and soon Rebekah and Kol were on their knees. They covered their ears with their hands, Bonnie had no idea what kind of aneurism Black John was giving them, but it had to be a powerful one to incapacitate them.

"Vatos!" she screamed.

Things exploded all around Black John, but it was as if the warlock didn't even notice. Instead, he turned that cold gaze on Bonnie and winked.

He waved his hand. The Originals were still under his spell, but now the rest of them were as screwed as they were. The building shook and rattled, but unlike during Bonnie's earthquake the ground was cracking underneath everyone's feet.

Bonnie looked down and saw the floor was covered in cracks. It looked like a spider's web. She gasped and almost fell. Kai caught her arm and held her up right. He was hanging onto the bar for support.

"RUN!" he shouted. "EVERYONE FUCKING RUN!"

Rebekah was trying to crawl away as the floor opened up underneath her. Kol was on his feet, but he was moving slowly. He was going for Rebekah.

Kai grabbed a bottle of liquor. He quickly rolled up a rag. Bonnie seeing he was about to do something that might just save all their asses decided to help. She threw a motus at Black John. Her spell was weaker this time, but it knocked him off his feet.

"MOTUS!" she screamed again.

Black John stumbled back and landed on his side. Another quick look at Kai told her he was done. The rag was shoved into the liquor bottle like a wick. Another look at Kol and Rebekah showed they were at the outskirts of the bar now. Her spells had weakened Black John's attack on them.

Kai lit the rag with a lighter from his pocket. He threw the bottle and it landed with a crash right at Black John's feet. It wouldn't kill him, but maybe it would slow him down.

A split second later, it burst in an explosion. Flames erupted everywhere and Black John screamed as he was set on fire.

Kai grabbed Bonnie's hand and dragged her out of the chaos.

"RUN!"

"I AM!" Bonnie shouted back.

Even in the middle of a crisis, Kai had to piss her off by doing things like stating the obvious.

Behind them it sounded like all hell broke loose and Bonnie didn't need to look over her shoulder to know Black John was definitely not dead. She just hoped everyone else was alright.

Bonnie ran trying to keep up with Kai for dear life and by the time they made it to the parking lot, she was gasping for breath. Kai pulled her down into a crouch behind one of the big SVU's.

"We need to get the hell out of here, ASAP," Kai said breathing hard.

His blue eyes normally so focused, darted around looking for signs that there was anyone else nearby.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," Bonnie muttered. Then louder she said; "I'm not leaving Kol."

"Listen to me, Bunny," Kai said insistently, he clutched her hand tighter and his eyes were more serious than she had ever seen them before. "Your boyfriend is an unkillable Original vampire -"

"But Black John came here to kill -"  
"Yeah," Kai pulled something out of his back pocket and after a second, she realized it was the white oak stake. "But here's the thing, he thought he would have this on him."

"Where did you get that?"

"I swiped it from him," Kai said with a cheery smile. "So the vampires will be alright and Black John isn't going to kill the New Englanders."

"How do -"

"He wants them as his coven."

"But Lucy -"

"Escaped with Celestia."

Bonnie wanted to believe him. It was tempting. If she did, she could plausibly justify running away because she knew Kol would be getting the hell out of dodge along with Rebekah any second now. Especially, when he knew she was safe.

Yes, running away was tempting because it led to safety. But it was cowardly and she wasn't going to leave anyone behind. Even if that 'anyone' turned out to be just unkillable Original vampires.

Bonnie shook her head. "I'm not leaving."

"I was afraid you'd say that. I really didn't want to have to do this -" Bonnie tried to tug her hand out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go. "I really am sorry about this, Bunny."

In an instant, her veins were on fire and she bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. All in an attempt to keep from screaming.

Kai let go. The relief was physical and she collapsed. Kai caught her, he drew her into his arms then the world spun. She recognized that tug low in her navel and she knew he was teleporting her away.

Within seconds, her new location manifested. In a way, she wasn't surprised, she should have known. Where else would he take her?

"Your treehouse," she said with a sigh. "We need to go back."

Why hadn't she learned how to teleport over long distances? Right, because that was one thing Kol couldn't teach her. He'd never learned because there hadn't been much use for teleportation back in his tiny old timey village. Which she supposed made a crazy sort of sense. After all, why bother to learn how to teleport when there was only so much village to teleport around? Mentally, she added that to the long list of spells she needed to learn.

"Hate to burst your bubble, Bunny – but..." Kai drew the words out as he smirked. "That's not happening."

"Fine, I'll get there myself."

Bonnie started toward the hatch. Kai caught her by the waist for about the hundredth time tonight. He picked her up and put her back down several feet away from the exit.

"Would you relax for like two seconds? I mean, sheesh."

Bonnie crossed her arms and eyed him darkly. "No."

"Like I said, sheesh. All of these feelings must be exhausting," he wiped his brow dramatically and exhaled in an exaggerated way. "And why go running to play the hero when we can use magic to assess the situation?"

"What did you have in mind?"

Bonnie didn't trust Kai, not by a long shot. He had saved her again tonight, but there was no doubt in her mind that was a completely selfish act. But none of that changed the fact that she was in the middle of nowhere with no vehicle. If Kai really did know a spell that would let them see what was going on then it was her best option. She could always come to the rescue once she knew the score.

Kai led her to a mirror that was lying haphazardly on the floor. He picked it up and put it down on the desk. He chanted in Latin as he waved his hand over the surface.

"Revelare. Visum est et mihi. Revelare. Revelare. Latet. Revelare."

Bonnie didn't catch all of that. Her Latin was still a work in progress, but she understood revelare. It meant reveal. And the phrase latet, it meant hidden secrets.

To her amazement, the surface of the mirror shimmered. It glowed and rippled like a wave. In the next instant, it was smooth once more, but this time, she could see the bar. The place was torn apart, but Black John was standing in the wreckage alone. That was a relief because it meant everyone had somehow managed to escape.

Black John roared at the top of his lungs. Bonnie and Kai both jumped. Kai snickered and smirked.

"Well that was an unexpected reaction."

"Shut up, Kai."

"See, Bunny? Everyone is fine so you can knock it off with the hostile attitude already."

"I'm not hostile," Bonnie crossed her arms and glowered at him. "I just don't like or trust you. And it's totally your own fault."

"Blah blah," Kai said using his hand to demonstrate how much she talked by opening and closing the fingers like a talking mouth. "Like we have already established I'm evil. It's old news, can we please get on with things?"

"Like what?"

"Fixing your injuries, duh."

"No, I don't think we should stay here."

Black John teleported away. Kai shut down the mirror with a lazy flick of his hand.

"Why not?" Kai asked his brow furrowed together. "We've already seen that everyone got out of there."

"Because Black John just teleported away, he could pop up here at any second."

"Any second? Please," Kai scoffed. "What kind of B-list warlock do you take me for?"  
"Excuse me?"

"I'm an A-lister, babe."

"Don't call me, babe."

Kai completely ignored her. "This place is soaked in so much protective magic I'd be shocked if Balck John could even find it. There's no way, he's getting in."

"Fine."

Bonnie took out her phone and called Kol. The whole time it rang, Kai bounced in front of her. He even sidled up really close and pressed his ear against the phone. Bonnie turned away and ignored him when he followed her.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Kol answered.

"Bonnie my sweet, where are you?" he sounded worried.

"I'm with Kai. He got us out of there," she muttered.

"Yes, I did," Kai said bouncing with glee. "Put me on speaker, Bonster."

Bonnie shook her head and shoved his shoulder. It didn't do any good. He didn't as much as budge, but he did laugh.

Dick.

"Are you alright?" Bonnie asked once again turning her back on Kai.

She might as well not have bothered because he popped up in front of her again a second later. It was like playing 'whack-a-mole' with the world's most annoying guy.

"I'm fine."

"Rebekah and Lucy?"

"Teleported out. I ran for it once I was certain you were gone, but I didn't see where you went."

"I'm stealthy like that," Kai snickered.

He had heard Kol easily because his ear was once again pressed right up against her phone.

"I have to go. I need to murder, Kai."

Bonnie hung up before Kol could protest.

"What did I do now, Bunny?"

Bonnie growled and seriously thought about choking Kai. It wasn't like he didn't have it coming. He could be all kinds of annoying.

"You snoop and you have absolutely no respect for personal boundaries."

"Now see? That's just not true."

"Oh, isn't it?" Bonnie put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows. "Because here's the thing, you couldn't back up two steps up to let me talk to Kol. And it's so not even the first time you have invaded my privacy when I'm trying to make a call."

"Well you know," he shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I'm whacky that way."

"Oh my God. Can we go already?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "We really do need to clean your wounds."

Bonnie touched the cut on her head and winced. It felt like a hundred needles pricked her skin in just that spot.

"It's just a little injury."

"That we are going to fix. Now have a seat."

Kai stretched his arms out and gestured for her to have a seat. Bonnie sat down on the edge of the bed. She had to admit, Kai's treehouse was impressive. It had two levels with a bed on each one and she briefly wondered if him and Jo had sleepovers here. There was also a TV and a fridge as well as a stovetop. Of course, Kai would have food in his hidey-hole.

Bonnie glowered at Kai. It was easier than admitting she was grateful. Gratitude was way too close to trust. And she had been down that road with Kai before. It didn't end well and she wasn't about to go there again.

Kai kneeled in front of her. He put his hand over her forehead. She winced when he touched her cut and he let go, at least a little.

"This will only take a sec," he said in a softer voice than she had thought him capable of.

What was happening right now?

"Healing spell?"

Much to Bonnie's embarrassment her voice was breathy.

"Healing spell," Kai murmured.

He closed his eyes and she felt a tingling where her cut knit itself back together. The tingling spread to the rest of her body as she was filled to the brim with magic and warmth. It was almost like when Kai gave her some of her magic back only better.

Bonnie's eyes closed and a quiet moan escaped her lips.

"Bonnie," Kai said in a rough voice. "You haven't thanked me for saving you."

She put her hands on his chest and pushed, creating some space between them and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Who says I needed rescuing?"

"Guess that's true. You're a tough girl," Kai said with a chuckle.

His hand roamed from her forehead to the nape of her neck. His fingers tangled into her hair and he turned her lips up to his. He closed the distance between their mouths.

Bonnie was tempted so tempted to give in to his kiss. Because she saw him differently. This was not the first time he had saved her ass and gotten nothing out of it. She hadn't even sworn the blood oath.

Of course, maybe that was it. Kai kept saving her life because he saw her as a prize to be won. And you couldn't win a prize if it was dead. Thinking about it like that made it easier than imagining Kai might actually have some semblance of feelings for her.

Bonnie gave him a good zap with her magic. He jerked as if he had been electrocuted.

"What the hell, Bonster?"

She shrugged and smirked. It was one of his smiles, she wondered if he noticed.

"I warned you not to try to kiss me again. We have a deal, but that doesn't mean I like you. And you need to get home before your dad decides you're a total traitor and straight up kills you."

"Good point," Kai winked and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Bonnie cursed out loud. Kai might have saved her ass again, but one thing hadn't changed, he was still the most frustrating guy she had ever met.

XXX

Bonnie arrived back at Kol and Rebekah's apartment an hour later. It had taken her a while to get down and then a while longer to keep walking. She had thought about calling Kol for a ride, but she needed the time to think.

When she walked through the door, Kol appeared in front of her. His expression was concerned and he reached for her.

"Where have you been?"

Scratch that, he was worried and jealous.

"Kai teleported us out, I told you and he had to get home before his dad realized he has betrayed him."

"And he couldn't be bothered to take you home first?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I'm fine so what does it matter?"

"I suppose it doesn't. Though it does prove chivalry is dead."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Kai was less than the perfect gentleman.

Next thing she knew, she was in his embrace. Kol slanted his mouth to hers and she stood up on her tip toes to meet him halfway. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke apart and their foreheads touched.

"So that was wild, huh?"

"Very much so," he agreed in a murmur. His fingers stroked his cheek. "Everything went completely pear-shaped."

"If you mean wrong then yeah."

"Yes, that's precisely what I mean."

Kol chuckled and his breath fanned her face. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"This is such a mess," Bonnie groaned and took a step back.

It was a mess in more than one way. She had almost kissed Kai – twice. Just to complicate matters. The truth was as much as she cared about Kol at the end of the day, she was disappointed about the way things had gone down with Kai. She still cared about him otherwise why else would she have agreed to Kai's deal? She was lying to herself if she told herself she couldn't have talked him into another deal.

Bonnie took a step back. She knew it was time to tell Kol even though he would go crazy.

"Uhm so -" she grimaced and then the whole story came out in a rush. She took a deep breath and looked at Kol apprehensively. "So?"

"So?" he snarled. "That's it? So? You make a deal with Kai one, which involves you going back to him and all you have to say is 'so'?"

Bonnie shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself. "I mean I'm sure there is a way out of it."

Kol's eyes were dark and unreadable. "Assuming you want it."

"Of course, I do."

The truth was, Bonnie didn't know. She didn't want it as long as Kai was a sociopath because he would never feel anything. At least not anything real, no matter what he pretended.

But if Kai had actual feelings and empathy?

That might change the whole game and Bonnie was scared to even contemplate that as an option.

"Hm," Kol said and he was still watching her with those dark eyes. And she still couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she didn't think he was pleased. "Why do I have the feeling this is what you have been waiting for?"

"Because you're paranoid?"

Kol huffed. "I am not."

"I get it. I've had a thing with Kai and now there is this -" she gestured unable to quite put it into words.

"You mean the two of you fulfilling the pact Sheila and Joshua made? The same one you were furious with me for keeping from you? Now you have willingly signed up?"

"I wouldn't say signed up. It was a whole big thing where it was the only deal he was willing to make."

"Come now, little witch. You must confess you know he is willing to take something else if it means power for him. You wanted this deal. At least some part of you must have."

Maybe that was true. But Bonnie balked at the idea of saying it aloud. It would make her stupid and weak as well as all those other things she didn't want to be. Because what else would you call a girl that fell for her sociopath ex-boyfriend?

"I wanted to take down Joshua and Black John to save all of my friends."

Kol looked taken aback, but his expression soon closed down and he was back to staring at her with black impassive eyes.

"Bonnie my sweet," Kol said softly. "What do you say we call that tomorrow's problem?"

"What?"

Of all the things she had expected to hear this wasn't anywhere on the list.

"You heard me."

Her brow knit together and she studied him. He looked sincere. He looked like someone, who was willing to let it go. He even looked like she could just run into his arms and everything would be forgotten. Which was exactly what she wanted, but why then did it make her feel so crappy?

"Why?"

"I've lived a long time, little witch. The one thing I have learned in a thousand years is even the best laid plans go to hell. What do you say, we simply handle one crisis at a time?"

Bonnie grinned. "I would like that."

And she would. Even if it felt like postponing trouble by putting aside Kai. He was going to become an issue sooner or later, but she supposed there was no use in fighting about it now. Not when she didn't know what to do about it or even what she wanted.

Not really.

So when Kol wrapped his arms around her, she hugged him close. Letting him and his familiar scent wash over her.

XXX

Kai was amazed no one seemed to have noticed he was gone when he returned home. He sauntered down from his room like nothing had happened and when he got to the kitchen, he saw it was true. As far as his dad and family was concerned nothing had happened.

"Another nap?" Joshua grumbled.

"No," Kai said with a look of disgust. "I was doing my homework."

"You don't do your homework, Malachai," Joshua grunted and flipped the page of his paper.

Kai was suddenly assaulted by the urge to shove the newspaper down Joshua's throat. He shoved it down deep enough he would choke. And if he choked for long enough, he would die. Now there was a satisfactory image. Joshua fixed him with a sharp look and Kai wondered if some of his thoughts didn't show on his face.

"I felt like it," Kai said with a shrug. "I was bored."

Joshua's eyes narrowed. "Why do I have the feeling you are lying?"

"Because I'm the abomination and you hate me?"

Joshua sighed now. Just one of the many ways he showed Kai what a failure he was.

"I do what I do to make you stronger because it will make the coven stronger."

"Uh-huh," Kai said fixing Joshua with a steely eyed stare.

He saw no signs that Joshua was being insincere. However, he knew that rage and disgust was just beneath the surface, masked with years of experience. And he knew Joshua had no intentions of letting Kai take the reigns.

Kai had to damp down on a smile when he imagined Joshua's reaction to him forcibly taking the coven.

"It's a pity you're an abomination and a monster. If you'd been more like your sister you might make an excellent leader. Instead, I am forced to pass the coven down to a powerful psychopath."

Kai grit his teeth together and forced a smile. "I get it, Pops."

Kai went to his room before he could make a mistake. Like picking up the nearest knife and offing his old man. As fun as that sounded it would just be an elaborate suicide that would take down the rest of the coven with him. And Kai was too smart to blow everything when he was so close to having everything he ever wanted.

Kai flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Normally, Joshua couldn't get under his skin. Hadn't been able to in years, but right now, he was seeing red. His anger burned white hot inside of him and he was afraid of what he might do if he didn't have a release.

But that wasn't an option.

It hit him then, Kai had never developed an immunity to Joshua's taunts and cruel remarks. It had been Bonnie's influence. He'd never talked to her about it, but this connection he had with her, it had made him feel less alone.

For perhaps the first time ever.

Kai took out his phone.

XXX

Bonnie was lying next to Kol in bed. His arm was over her stomach and he lay flat on his back next to her. He was even snoring, which meant he was exhausted because normally Kol didn't snore. She played with his hair absent-mindedly.

"I love you," she whispered and smiled. "But I don't see a happy ending here."

This was so much easier to say when he was asleep. Mostly because it was less final. And it was true. She loved Kol, but she didn't see a happy ending with him. He could never again be a warlock and she didn't want to turn. Unless Kol thought he was going to turn her one day, they were both fooling themselves.

Kol groaned and rolled over onto his side. She brushed a few stray hairs away from his face.

Bonnie's screen lit up and she was surprised to see a text from Kai. Her first instinct was that something was wrong, but when she read it, she was alarmed in another way. Kai obviously just wanted to talk and that was a different kind of frightening.

 **Are you awake?**

Bonnie debated with herself at length whether or not she should answer. Finally, with a guilty look at Kol, she did.

 **Yes, what's going on?**

 **Nothing, I was just thinking of you.**

 **Well don't.**

Bonnie fired off her last text, feeling herself starting to get annoyed with Kai. She didn't have the energy to deal with more of his crap after the day she'd had. Shouldn't he be too exhausted as well?

Apparently not because his answer came as fast as his first few messages.

 **Too bad, I am. You can't control my thoughts although I bet you'd like to. Wouldn't you, Bunny?**

Now Bonnie grit her teeth. Kai really was trying to drive her crazy, wasn't he?

 **I would rather die from cholera than go anywhere near your twisted mind. Now either tell me what's really going on or let me sleep.**

 **Feisty.** Bonnie could practically hear the laughter and the flirtation in that one word. **If you have to know, it's my dad. I just really hate him.**

 **What did he do? Are you alright?**

 **I'm fine. He just majorly sucks, you know?**

 **I do know. Wanna curse him?**

 **I love the way your mind works, lol. So twisted, but in the most unexpected way. Know any good curses, Bonster?**

Bonnie laughed at that. Then she typed up a reply.

 **Isn't that your area of expertise?**

 **Yeah, but I need something non-lethal.**

 **Will research. Goodnight, Kai.**

 **Thx. Goodnight, Bunny.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! The bonkai is slowly winding back up again, but it might take a little while. Also who buys Kol's whole "i am totally cool with this act"? Because boy oh boy, do I have plans for that.**

 **Izzy**

 **Guest: Thank you so much, I'm blushing. Hopefully the wait wasn't too long.**

 **Guest: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Sorry, but this won't be a kai x bonnie x kol fic, but it will be bonkai eventually.**


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24**

Kai spent the rest of his weekend with pep in his step thanks to his little midnight conversation with Bonnie. It was still present when school started on Monday. Unfortunately, his happy mood was cut short by Kol.

Kol cut him off on his way to gym class, which was annoying because it was the only class he shared with Bonnie. Kol glowered at him.

"What?" Kai asked tilting his head to the side.

"I heard about your deal with Bonnie and it would seem you have sunk as low as your father."

Ouch, that might have actually hurt if he had feelings.

"And you're above playing dirty? You started this game."

Kol chuckled, but there was no amusement in his eyes. "It appears I did. However, I am confident I'll win."

"Really?" Kai said making a mocking face. "Then why are you here taunting or should I say, attempting to taunt me? Shouldn't you be following Bonnie around or whatever it is you do?"

"Amusing," Kol rolled his eyes. "Consider this your last warning."

"Terrifying."

Kai used the last vestiges of the magic in his system to teleport to the locker room. He could just imagine Kol's annoyance when he disappeared. Kai appeared wearing a broad grin in the boy's locker room.

XXX

Bonnie had been dreading gym class all day long. When Kai walked out to join them for lacrosse wearing his shit eating grin, she knew today wasn't going to be fun. Just as she had predicted, Kai was up to something because he sidled up next to her.

"Whatcha doin' Bunny?"

"Go away."

"Why?"

"Why?" she glared at him. "Oh my God, whatever you want to say just say it and go away."

"Is it because we almost kissed? Twice?"

"Shut up," she growled.

Kai laughed. "You're adorable when you're angry."

"Ugh. You suck."

"So people keep telling me and I don't get it. I'm awesome."

"You're deluded."

The coach blew his whistle, which made her and Kai jump. He stalked toward them wearing a scowl.

"Am I interrupting?" the coach demanded.

Bonnie shook her head and so did Kai, but he smirked.

"Great! Then get to the game!" the coach blew his whistle aggressively after them. "Teach you to flirt in my class," he muttered just barely loud enough for Bonnie to hear him. "Perverts the lot of you."

Bonnie grabbed a stick and joined her team on their side of the gym. Kai watched her go and she did her best to ignore them. Although she knew being on opposing teams from Kai could only lead to trouble. After all, this whole fighting and flirting thing she had going with Kai made her a little crazy. She couldn't decide if she wanted to kiss or kill him most days.

The ball was passed to her and she ran down the court. She tried to pass it to Celestia, but Kai checked her. Bonnie swiveled and went in the other direction. But he was too fast. Growling, she charged at him and she thought it might actually make Kai back off, but he stood his ground.

The collision hit hard and she saw stars as their limbs tangled. Bonnie landed on Kai. She blushed and tried to scramble off him, but since their sticks had tangled together, it only made things worse. And Kai being Kai had to exploit the situation. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she hit his chest.

"Let go!"

The coach grabbed her arm and pulled her off the floor.

"That's enough. Whatever it is with the two of you, I've had it," the coach said and blew his whistle. Bonnie winced and covered her ears. "I'm giving you both detention."

"Me?" Bonnie exclaimed. "He follows me around like a stalker every single gym class! I've had it!"

"Totally," Cassie agreed loping up next to Bonnie.

"Hey," Kai said shooting Bonnie an annoyed look. "What happened no snitching?"

Bonnie tilted her head to the side and gave him an innocent look. "We make exceptions for guys like you."

Kai's jaw dropped open and he clutched his chest, feigning hurt. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Detention both of you."

The coach blew his whistle. Bonnie covered her ears again. She hated it when he blew that thing.

XXX

The rest of Bonnie's day hadn't improved since her run in with Kai in gym class. She hated that they had gym class with the seniors. If it were up to her, Kai would have been expelled. To make matters worse, she hadn't wanted to tell Kol why she had detention. So she'd run away and had been avoiding him ever since. That was a conversation that could wait until she got home. There was no reason for Kol and Kai to get into another fight on school grounds.

Bonnie was lying with her head on the desk in the detention room. She heard heavy footsteps and someone sitting down at the desk next to her. She didn't look up because she knew there was a good chance it was Kai.

But boy how she wished it was anyone else.

There was another loud thump. Like someone had put their boots on the desk. It had to be Kai. There was just no way there was anyone, who was as disrespectful as Kai.

"Hey, jailbird. Looks like we're serving time together. Kind of romantic, huh?" Kai's grating voice said.

Yes, it was definitely him.

"Shut up."

Kai laughed. "I get it. You're not thrilled about detention, but as a frequent flyer, I'm telling you it'll be over before you know it."

"Oh my God," Bonnie groaned. "I'd rather die of cholera than be in detention with you."

"As would I," Bonnie looked up and saw the speaker was the little old lady, who taught French. Mrs. Carter was stern and usually in a foul mood. Today was apparently no exception. "I have better things to do than babysit delinquents so for the next two hours, you will be silent."

Mrs. Carter gave them both one last steely look before sitting down with her book. She was reading an ancient and very dusty looking book on the French revolution.

The screen of Bonnie's phone lit up. She checked her text message and glared at Kai when she saw it was from him.

 **Mrs. C's book is as boring as she is. Hey how much do you want to bet the C in Mrs. C stands for Mrs. Cunt?**

 **Leave me alone, you misogynist.**

Kai snorted a laugh. She grinned when he disguised it as a coughing fit that earned him yet another scowl from Mrs. Carter.

 **You're cute when you're angry, Bunny.**

 **I'm turning my phone off.**

Before Bonnie could turn her phone off, another text from Kai arrived. This was one was actually serious instead of the usual nonsense. She wished she had never given him her number. And she wouldn't have if she had known how badly he was going to abuse the privilege.

 **We need to take out Black John.**

 **When?**

 **Tonight.**

Bonnie put her phone aside and resigned herself to the rest of detention. But at least, Kai wasn't trying to flirt or confuse her any more than she already was.

XXX

Bonnie led Kol, Cassie, Nick, Rebekah and Lucy to Kai's tree house later that evening. Or at least it was where the tree house was, but none of them could see it with the glamor in place. Cassie rubbed her arms and glanced up at the sky nervously. Rebekah in contrast appeared bored whereas Kol looked as if he would like nothing more than to snap Kai's neck. That was assuming Kai ever showed.

"I hate this place," Cassie muttered.

Bonnie grinned at her. "That's just because the last time you were here, Kai grabbed me and left you out here alone."

"He grabbed you?" Kol growled.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. Out of all her problems with Kai this wasn't anywhere near the top of the list.

"He wanted to talk alone and you know, Kai is almost as dramatic as you are."

"Honestly, Kol," Rebekah huffed. "I'm sure a Bennett witch can handle herself."

"I bet," Kol said with a sly look at Lucy.

Rebekah sniffed and turned her nose up. But there was a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

"Kai," Bonnie called looking up to where the treehouse was located.

"I still don't see why we can't do this in my flat," Kol said.

"I told you. Kai said to arrive separately and that this place is warded like crazy. No one not even his dad can spy on us here."

"You think Joshua has magically spied on Kol's apartment?" Lucy asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him," Bonnie muttered.

"Oh, he would do it," Nick said speaking up for the first time. "There isn't much I would put past Joshua or Black John."

"Especially Black John. I have no idea, who is creepier," Cassie said shuddering.

"I trust Joshua has attempted such espionage or perhaps Black John. However, I can assure you my flat is warded," Kol said.

"Not like this place though," Cassie said and closed her eyes as if she was breathing in the magic.

Bonnie could understand. Kai's treehouse felt alive with magic. It hung in the air like a curtain and caressed her skin like the air before an electric storm. She could feel it even though she was still outside. That alone would alert someone to a magical hideout, but she couldn't pinpoint the location no matter how hard she tried.

"Kai!" Bonnie said impatiently.

She knew Kai had a flare for the dramatic, but there was no reason he needed to keep them waiting. It was either to be dramatic or more likely a weird power play with Kol. The two of them were worse than ever after the party. And Bonnie had no idea how to deal with it and she suspected getting involved would only make things worse.

The latch to the tree house fell open. Kai hung out of the opening and he looked like he was ready for trouble.

"You rang?" Kai said with a cheeky smile. "No need to yell, you know I heard you all a mile away."

"You're an idiot," Bonnie said.

Kol reached for her hand and interlocked their fingers. She knew it was just an attempt to make Kai crazy, but she let it go. Giving Kol's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Sure, she had some feelings for Kai. Ones she was firmly ignoring, but she had chosen Kol. Even if that choice had come about only because Kai had betrayed her. And that betrayal might not have been as complete as she initially believed, but it didn't change anything.

"Uh-huh," Kai said eyes narrowing as he saw their interlocked hands. "Well come on up. Mi casa es su casa, except you guys. I just meant Bonster. The rest of you are just here out of necessity and believe me, I will relocate my hiding spot once this is all done."

"Ah, I see the Gemini paranoia is continued in you," Rebekah said with a smirk.

Kai disappeared back inside of the tree house.

Bonnie decided to ignore the attempts to start a petty argument that Rebekah was trying to incite. Instead, she climbed up ladder to the tree house. The rest of the group followed her.

Kai was seated on the couch. He looked completely at ease, which Bonnie knew couldn't possibly be the case. Until she saw the ancient tome next to him. It was brown and leather-bound. She knew to look at it was old and probably contained a lot of Gemini coven secrets.

Maybe that was why Kai looked so at ease?

"Welcome," Kai said with a smirk. "Tonight, we are taking out Black John."

"Really?" Cassie said eyeing him skeptically. "And just how did you figure out how to kill Black John? According to legends, he's immortal, totally powerful and super evil."

"That sounds about right," Bonnie mumbled.

"Oh, it's definitely right," Kai agreed. His smirk turned into a bright smile and he winked at Bonnie. "But I'm a genius and I found his Achilles heel."

"Get to the point," Kol growled.

Bonnie put her hand on his arm. He was probably jealous as usual, but now was not the time for it.

"If you want to kill Black John, you have to break the crystal skull he tied his soul to. And since he wiped the floor with us during our last attempt, I'm thinking this is our only chance."

"You're kidding," Bonnie said flatly. "Black John didn't Horcrux his soul into a crystal skull."

Kai laughed.

"He what?" Kol said glancing her. "Horcrux? I don't believe I'm familiar with that term."

"It's from a book," Lucy said in complete exasperation. "You Mikaelsons look good for your age."

Bonnie also ignored the flirtatious look Lucy sent Rebekah. Now was so not the time for flirting or jealousy. If Kai really did have a way to kill Black John they all needed to get their heads in the game.

Immediately.

"But that doesn't help unless we know where the crystal is," Bonnie said and Kai's expression turned gleeful. "And judging by your face, you know where it is."

"I do," Kai said with a grin. "But I need a little help to get it. I can get past my dad's wards, but Black John's pose a problem."

"How so?"

"Why, Bunny I'm so delighted you asked, but actually I need Cassie's help for this one."

"Me? Why?" Cassie exclaimed.

"No way," Nick said. "You're not going anywhere alone with that psycho."

"I'm flattered," Kai sniggered. "But relax. We won't be alone."

Nick's expression went stony. Bonnie often thought he was so handsome, but like there was an icy veneer covering his features. He was beautiful, but cold like nothing or anything ever touched him except when he was around Cassie. Then there was some warmth in his impassive eyes. A flicker of life.

"And the rest of us?" Rebekah said with a huff.

"Someone needs to distract my father and Black John."

"Oh my God," Bonnie groaned. "We're bait."

"Not you," Kai rolled his eyes. "I need a Bennett witch to kill the crystal. I've got Jo's magic in my system, but after I crack dad's wards? And Cassie cracks Black John's? We'll both be drained and you're our most powerful weapon."

"I'm in," Bonnie said without thinking.

"No, you're not," Kol said. "This is madness. You and I could skip town right now, little witch."

"No way," Bonnie said. "That's not possible. If I bail, who knows what Joshua will do to my Grams?"

"I think you mean try to do, cuz," Lucy said. "Sheila can take care of herself."

"I'm not risking it," Bonnie said. "She almost died once already this year because of me and I'm not about to make the same mistake twice."

If the Originals hadn't intervened Sheila would have died that night in the tomb. Something was still bothering Bonnie and she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I thought we needed a coven leader to destroy the crystal," Kol said his eyes darkening. "Or was that another one of your lies?"

Kai chortled. "I don't lie. Much."

"Now there's a whopper if I ever heard one," Lucy said.

"Well that's the thing. I did some reading and did you know according to ancient texts solitary witches are technically coven leaders?"

"What?" Bonnie said along with everyone else.

"It's true," Kai shrugged. "Coven of one or whatever, but still to the ancient forces you're no different than any other coven leader. Of course, not all witches or warlocks for that matter pack the same punch as you Bennett witches."

"Okay," Bonnie said after a moment of contemplation. There was always the chance Kai was lying, but she knew he wanted Joshua out of the way as much as the rest of them. Maybe more. "I'll do it. But if you double-cross me again, I'll kill you."

"Not this again," Kai groaned. "It was for the greater good. And I have apologized."

"Ah, yes apologies that come with excuses and justifications are my favorite," Bonnie said not bothering to hide the venom in her voice.

Kai rolled his eyes. Thanks to his sociopathic ways, he generally wasn't too bothered with her anger. Nothing ever seemed to faze him. Until she'd learned he was a sociopath, Bonnie had just assumed Kai was one of those people, who always kept their cool. And that was true, but for the most chilling of reasons.

"So now that everyone is in on the plan, I'll leave you to each your parts," Kai said with a smirk. "If all goes well, meet back here tonight. Our part might take the longest, so Originals and company, you're going to have to buy us as much time as you can."

"I might have an idea," Rebekah said with a sly smile.

"Good, let's get to it," Kai said.

XXX

Bonnie paced nervously on the edge of the forest outside of the Parker home. Cassie stood next to her. By comparison, Cassie was much calmer. She stood watching the house, but the tension in her face and shoulders told another story. As did the chalky pallor of her skin. Cassie was as on edge as Bonnie was.

After years of cheerleading, Bonnie didn't do well with inactivity. She liked to be on the move and she had even gotten to a certain point of comfort with fighting. But waiting? That almost did her in every single time.

What felt like an eternity later, they saw Joshua get in his car and drive away. Two seconds later, Kai was at the back door of the house, waving them inside.

"Where's Jo and the kids?" Bonnie whispered.

"Not here, duh," Kai answered. "But we need to be quick. The twins won't sit through the whole movie."

"Then why go?" Cassie asked.

Kai started to lead them to Joshua's study.

"Because they were driving Jo up the wall and this way she is guaranteed almost a whole hour of peace."

Kai started to magically undo the wards that protected Joshua's study. Bonnie watched in fascination. Wards and how to undo them weren't something she had tried yet. She had done some reading on the subject and watching Kai worked sent a thrill of excitement through her. Her fingers itched to try the incantation.

There was a ripple in the air and it glowed golden for a second before disappearing.

"Voila," Kai said with a wave of his hand. "Magic. After you ladies."

Cassie shot Bonnie a hesitant look. Realizing Cassie didn't trust Kai any further than she could throw him, Bonnie stepped over the threshold first. She didn't trust Kai a whole lot more than Cassie – well that was the problem, she trusted him, but she knew she shouldn't. But she did trust Cassie to watch her back in case Kai was plotting against them.

Kai rapped with his knuckles on one of the oak panels of the wall. He murmured something in Latin that Bonnie didn't catch. There was a golden glow underneath his palm as he held it against the wall. Bonnie stifled a gasp when an invisible force sliced his palm open. Blood poured from his hand and hit the wall. It soaked into the wood and disappeared. Slowly and with a loud creak the panel in the wall slid aside. It opened into a black stairwell that looked as if it descended deep under the earth.

"What the hell is this?" Bonnie asked taking a step back.

"I am not going down there with that psycho," Cassie said giving Kai a cold look.

"You make a good point," Bonnie said eyeing Kai distrustfully.

"Relax, this is where dear old Joshua hides all the good magic. And occasionally protects stuff for allies like Black John."

"This is such a bad idea. If we survive this, I admit it, you were right," Bonnie said to Cassie.

"And if we don't, guess it doesn't matter much, who was right," Cassie agreed and even managed to crack a smile.

"But I'm the dramatic one?" Kai said. With an exasperated shake of his head, he led the way down the stairs.

Bonnie hesitated only for a minute. Then she followed with Cassie hot on her heels.

"This doesn't seem like the sort of plan that needs a distraction," Bonnie said eyeing Kai's back distrustfully.

"Trust me, it will, Bunny. Once we hit Black John's wards, there's a ninety percent chance he will sense it."

"Trust is earned and you haven't earned mine."

"And you will never earn mine," Cassie chimed in.

"You girls need to relax."

Something that would have been easier to do if Kai wasn't leading them down a creepy corridor. The only light was from the glow of torches on the wall, which wasn't exactly soothing. All the torches did was show her that they were definitely underground. The walls were made of dirt and Bonnie wrapped her arms around her. The further down they went the colder it got.

There was magic in the air. It sparked and crackled against her skin. She could feel it weighing her down and knew instantly the cold was caused by the magic wards on the place. No doubt, it was intended to make a potential ill at ease and shift their attention. So that what else could attack?

"Uhm, Kai?" Bonnie said tensely.

"Yeah?" he asked with a careless glance over his shoulder.

"What kind of wards are down here? I feel like something is going to jump out at us at any minute."

"Chill," Kai flashed a smile. In the darkness she couldn't really see his face, it was cast in shadows. But she could see the glitter of his white teeth. "If you had snuck down here without a member of the Parker family my guess? You'd either be incinerated or sliced and diced by now."

"That's not nearly as comforting as you think it is," Bonnie said dryly.

Kai shrugged. As usual he was unbothered by what other people thought of him or if they thought the situation was scary.

"It's right up ahead."

The passageway was dark so dark it was difficult to be sure anything at all had changed. But unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, there might be a door a few feet down. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark or it was just the power of suggestion at work. But a second later she felt it. The air was filled with that crackling energy, it was magic humming through the air.

"Do you feel that?" Bonnie asked Cassie.

Cassie stretched her hand out. "No, should I?"

"It's magic," Kai said with a sigh.

In spite of herself, Bonnie sympathized with him. Kai had grown up ostracized and hated for being a siphoner. For something he couldn't help and couldn't change any more than he could change the color of his skin. She could all too easily imagine him as a little boy, loving magic and just wanting to learn the way his siblings did. It was painful and she could easily understand how he had turned out the way he was.

Her Grams had always said monsters were made, not born. But the real question was, was Kai a monster? A true monster.

Maybe not yet, Bonnie thought hating herself for how much she hoped so.

The group came to a stop in front of a door. Now that they were closer, Bonnie could see it was definitely a door. Old and made of wood, but teeming with powerful magic.

"How do we get through?" Bonnie looked to Kai.

Kai winked. He put his hand on the doorknob and chanted in Latin. She caught the gist of it. Listing his bloodline and asking the ancient protection spells to let him through.

The air stilled and Kai opened the door.

"Come on in. Step into dear old dad's secret sanctuary. The place where he stores all of his best ju-ju."

Bonnie and Cassie both looked at Kai.

"After you," Bonnie said at last.

"Where is the trust?" Kai asked shaking his head.

"Somehow never in the same room as you."

Bonnie snorted with laughter. Kai was right about one thing, Cassie had changed.

Kai chuckled and sauntered into the room. Bonnie stayed close by because she didn't trust him. At least not totally and she figured it was a good idea to keep an eye on him.

The room felt powerful. The second she stepped over the threshold she could feel it crashing over her like a wave. One quick look around the room was explanation enough. It was filled with ancient looking grimoires and what were probably artefacts of dark magic. There was a scythe on one of the walls that hummed with power.

Kai led the way to an old metal chest. It had more power emanating from it than anything else in the room.

"Alright, you're up Cassie."

"To do what?" Cassie asked her brow creasing. "You still haven't told me how I'm supposed to break Black John's wards."

"Duh, with blood," Kai said. "Basically, same thing I did to get in here and you're going to have to hurry because we're short on time and my magic is tapped out."

"Not really your magic," Cassie muttered.

Kai clucked his tongue. "Not cool."

"Hey," Bonnie said getting between them. "Let's just get this over with, alright?"

Kai handed Cassie a knife and she sliced her palm open. She winced and let the blood drip on the chest. Bonnie didn't know about Cassie, but she was definitely wondering why Cassie's blood would break Black John's wards. She didn't know much about blood magic, but she did know the reason Kai could break Joshua's was because they were blood family. Which gave her a sneaky suspicion Cassie and Black John were related. Luckily, Cassie was such a novice, it didn't look like this possibility had occurred to her.

Cassie gasped when the wards surrounding the chest shimmered a bright gold. She jumped away when the lid burst open. Her blue eyes were wide and bright, the alarm was all too visible in them when she turned to look at Bonnie.

Oh no, she knows, Bonnie thought.

All she had time to do was reach for Cassie's hand and give it a comforting squeeze before Kai's thrust the crystal skull at her. Bonnie gnawed on her lower lip and studied it. She could feel the ancient and dark power emanating from it. It pulsated through her and she felt like it was trying to take her over.

"I don't know, Kai," Cassie said eyeing him dubiously. "Our entire coven tried to destroy it and it almost killed us."

"Yeah, well that tracks," Kai said snorting with laughter. "You New Englanders have enough power between you to do some _almost_ cool parlor tricks. Bonnie on the other hand can blow the lot of you out of the water."

His words were cold and condescending yet Bonnie couldn't stop the blush that crept up her cheeks. She was happy for the darkness that made it impossible to tell.

"It feels powerful," Bonnie said. "What do I do?"

She didn't want to, but she looked at Kai. After all, this was his plan. He must know how to destroy it. And why hadn't she thought to ask before now? Right, because everything was a nightmare and she wanted to stay as far away from Kai as possible.

"Just close your eyes and picture blowing it into oblivion. Then channel all your magic behind it."

Bonnie didn't like the sound of that. She had been magically tapped out before and this wasn't exactly a situation where she wanted to be powerless. But it was too late to turn back and what other choice did any of them have?

She closed her eyes and pictured the skull blowing up into a million, sparkly pieces. She added magic to the vision. Saw it pouring out of her and into the skull destroying it. It was only seconds before she felt her magic tug at her fingertips, flow as it left her.

The power grew and grew until it burst. Her hands ripped open and she cried out. She heard Cassie scream and Kai call her name, but it was distant. It was like a dream, all that existed was her and the skull, they weren't here. Her face stung and she gasped when she felt strong hands on her shoulders.

"C'mon, Bunny," Kai said. "You alright?"

Bonnie opened her eyes and looked straight into the worried face of Kai. It was such an unusual thing for him that she wasn't sure how to respond.

"I think so."

"Bonnie you're bleeding," Cassie said the shock and concern evident in her voice.

"Your face," Kai murmured.

With featherlight touches his fingers caressed her cheek. He made a few soothing noises and she felt a tingling sensation in her cheek as his magic crept underneath her skin. She sighed and moved closer to his touch.

"Hm," she sighed, her eyes drifting closed again.

"And your hands," Kai said.

He touched her palms. He ran his index finger along her palm. The magic tingled with electricity and she sighed again as the cuts on her palms healed slowly.

"Thanks," she said with a blush staining her cheeks.

"No problem, you have nice palms."

His fingers stroked her palms once more and her breath caught in her throat. She knew she should pull away, but she couldn't.

"We need to go," Cassie snapped breaking into whatever this stupor Bonnie was in was. And Bonnie could have kissed her for the interruption.

"Let's run for the hills."

Kai caught Bonnie's hand and the three of them ran out of there. Kai quickly sealed the ward behind them. He led them to the back door. Bonnie, who hadn't realized, he was still holding her hand snatched it back.

"I don't think you should stay here," Bonnie had no idea why she was trying to help Kai.

Common sense implied it was insanity because Kai was nothing good, but she couldn't help herself. A part of her still cared about him.

"Where am I gonna run, Bunny?"

"I don't know, but when your dad finds out what happened he will blame you. He totally will."

"I know," Kai cracked a lopsided smile. "But he can't kill me."

Bonnie's throat clenched because she knew there were a lot of things between leaving him alone and actually killing him. And Joshua was evil and sadistic enough to think of them. He'd been more than willing to trap Bonnie in Portland for the rest of her life and just the memory of the pain was enough to make a shudder run through her.

"Kai."

"I hate to say this, but she's right," Cassie said with a heavy sigh.

"If I leave, he will know for sure it was me. Think girls, think."

Bonnie glowered at him and was back to wanting to hit him upside his head. But his sarcasm had given her an idea.

"You're not half as stupid as I thought," Bonnie exclaimed and grinned when she saw the offended look on Kai's face. "But what if we knock you unconscious?"

"Knock me unconscious?" Kai eyed her dubiously. "I don't know how to tell you this Bonster -"

"I know, you don't want a big bump. But I know a spell. It'll make it look like you're half dead when you're actually fine."

"The mortus vita," Cassie breathed and looked at her in awe. "Where did you learn that?"

"That's some seriously potent magic," Kai said.

"From one of Kol's grimoires. I haven't tried it out, but I think I can do it."

"Kol," Kai muttered. "I don't know. You look pretty tapped out, Bon."

Bonnie couldn't argue with that. Her knees were shaking and when she tried to summon her magic all she felt was a flicker. It was nothing compared to the power she was accustomed to.

"I have to try."

"Fine," Kai said from between clenched teeth. "But if you actually kill me, I'm gonna be super pissed."

"I'm fine with that risk," Cassie said.

Bonnie snorted a laugh then pulled herself together. "I promise I will try not to kill you."

"Super reassuring."

Bonnie put her hands on Kai's temple. She called her magic and hoped she had enough to actually pull this off. Her concentration was broken by the sound of a car pulling up the driveway. The only reason they weren't currently busted was because the back of the house wasn't visible from the driveway.

"Bonnie -" Cassie said and Bonnie heard the panic in her voice.

"This is not going to work."

"Malachai," Joshua's voice thundered.

Bonnie froze and she saw her own fear reflected back in Kai's eyes. It would seem even Kai had enough sense to be afraid of Joshua.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has read, reviewed, faved and followed this fic. I know it was a bit of a wait for this chapter so I hope it was worth the wait. Are we excited about the upcoming bonkai? Because it is on its way, I promise.**

 **\- Izzy**

 **Guest: Here is the next chapter. Hope you like it**


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

"Malachai," Joshua's voice thundered.

Bonnie froze and she saw her own fear reflected back in Kai's eyes. It would seem even Kai had enough sense to be afraid of Joshua.

"There's no time, just go."

"No, I have a better idea," Bonnie said as a half-baked crazy plan took form. "Run, Cassie. Get the hell out of here."

"Oh, I know what you're thinking," Kai smirked. "It might just work."

Before Bonnie could ask him what he was thinking, he gripped her wrists so tightly for a second, she thought he was siphoning her. Belatedly, she realized he was using the emergency magic in his Sanskrit rings. In the next instant, she was standing in his bedroom. All she could do was hope Cassie ran away when they told her to.

"This was not my plan. I was thinking I could knock you out," she hissed. "The spell -"

Kai's hand slid from around her wrist to her hands and he pulled her toward the bed. Bonnie had to admit as far as plans went it didn't entirely suck. It wasn't like Joshua didn't know they had a thing. The horny teenager routine might actually work. It was riskier than her plan, but with all of them tapped out of magic, she might not even get the chance to cast the spell. Let alone see if Joshua bought it.

Bonnie threw her sweater off and messed up her hair. Next to her Kai did the same thing. She sat down on Kai's lap and she kissed him. He pulled her under the covers and he threw his shirt and jeans to the side.

"Kai," she hissed even though this wasn't the first time she'd seen him in his boxers. "Don't get carried away."

"Says the girl, who stripped down to her bra."

Bonnie laughed in spite of herself. "Not a word to Kol, alright?"

"Relax, I'm great at secrets. They're hot," Kai's blue eyes burned with heat and she blushed.

Kai wrapped his arms around her. His lips brushed hers and she sucked on his lower lip. It elicited a moan from him and she smiled. She was actually enjoying herself and it was the opposite of what she should be doing. This wasn't for fun, she was trying to protect Kai.

If Joshua thought she had snuck in for a hookup then it was perfectly plausible Kai hadn't noticed someone breaking into the family vault.

She put her legs around his waist and he climbed on top of her. He was already hard and he pressed himself against her core. She moaned and ran her fingers through his hair tussling it. Kai's mouth covered hers in a hungry kiss that stole her breath away. Sparks shot through her and heat pooled low in her stomach.

For a brief moment she forgot everything.

Kai's hand ran along her stomach and squeezed her breast.

There was a banging sound in the distance. Some part of her brain was trying to tell her why it was important, but she couldn't remember. She was lost in Kai's touch. The feel of his warm body against hers and the touch of his lips was scorching.

She'd missed him. The realization was painful and it made her cling to his shoulders and clutch him closer.

"KAI!" Joshua's voice boomed.

A bolt of lightning flashed through the room in his fury. That snapped them out of it and Kai fell aside. Bonnie jumped up and pulled the covers up to cover her chest.

Joshua stood in the doorway. She reached out and found Kai's hand. He laced their fingers together, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. It didn't do much to calm the panicked beating of her heart. Even though she had been expecting Joshua the sight of him still chilled her to the bone. His expression was furious and suddenly she flashbacked to the moment he had tried to trap her in Portland.

"Don't you knock?" Kai drawled. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"So you didn't happen to notice someone broke into our magical vault?"

"What?" Kai's eyes widened and Bonnie had to admit he feigned surprise well.

Her? Not so much.

She slunk further under the covers when Joshua's cold eyes swept over her. Kai's thumb stroked the back of her hand, telling her to stay calm.

"And here you are with Bonnie. One of the girls who plotted to kill Black John. It would seem she succeeded this time. Do you think me such a fool that I wouldn't why she is truly here?"

"Nah, I'm sure you're of average intelligence," Kai said with what he probably thought was a winning smile. "But here's the thing, I don't care about the magic vault. Supes sorry about your buddy though. But like I said, Bonnie and I are kind of in the middle of something so if you could just give us an hour to wrap things up."

"Oh my God, Kai like this is totally embarrassing," Bonnie agreed and hid her face behind Kai's shoulder. "Could you just not make it worse?"

"Nice try," Joshua snarled.

He raised his hand and there was a crack of thunder. Kai grabbed her by the waist and they went soaring through the air. She hit the ground and had all of the oxygen knocked out of her lungs. Kai landed on top of her and she groaned.

Lightning hit the bed where they had just been sitting. She screamed and reached for the closest thing. It turned out to be a grimoire flopped carelessly on the floor. She threw it in Joshua's general direction.

"Hold on, Bunny."

Kai wrapped his arms around her and the world spun as he teleported them away. She could feel her own magic being pulled out of her and the tingle of the magic from his Sanskrit rings.

Her head spun and she fell against Kai exhausted. She blinked and the only light present was the twinkle of fairy lights. There was a part of her that knew this place, but she couldn't think.

"Oh my God, what's wrong with me?"

This feeling was familiar too. Kai's fingers brushed her cheek and she felt an electric tingle go through her. She sighed and she felt stronger already as magic coursed through her.

"You were magically drained. Feels pretty crappy, huh?"

She closed her eyes. "How would you know?"

"Ouch," Kai chuckled. "But fair enough. As a siphoner I have sometimes stuck around long enough to see what happens to my victims."

"Where are we?" Bonnie sat up and looked around. Kai's treehouse came into focus and she grinned. "Never mind."

Realizing she was still shirtless, she covered her chest with her arms.

"Don't worry no one is getting in here, Bunny. Not even dear old dad."

Bonnie blushed when she saw Kai was wearing nothing except for his boxers.

"You're sure?"

"I'm totally sure."

"Alright, so maybe you have some clothes around here?"

Kai cracked a smile. He let his gaze trail heatedly along her figure and his eyes rested on her chest for a moment too long.

"Yes, I do."

Kai got up and dug through some drawers. He tossed an oversized T-shirt her way. She pulled it on and deliberately looked away when Kai pulled on a pair of black sweats. He moved slowly and was definitely putting on a show. With his broad shoulders and six-pack the last thing she needed was to catch a glimpse. Resisting Kai took enough effort as it was.

Bonnie checked for her phone and she grew cold when she discovered it was gone. It had been in her hoodie pocket.

"Oh my God, I don't have my phone. Do you have yours?"

"Yup," Kai pulled it out of his pocket. "Crap, the battery's dead."

"Oh, that's bad," Bonnie said wringing her hands. "We need to make sure Cassie got out of there alright."

"I'm sure she was fine. She had a head start and I'm sure she ran to hunker down with her coven."

"What about Kol and the others? They were supposed to distract Black John and Joshua. If Joshua is back already and without a scratch on him -"

"I'm sure they aren't dead. I mean, it would take quite a bit to kill an Original."

"We should go."

"Nope," Kai shook his head. "You wanna survive the night? We need to stay here until dad gives up the search."

"I don't think that will work," Bonnie said and eyed him. "Do that mirror thing to check in on the rest of them. Then once we know where Joshua is we can get out of here."

"Not unless you can cloak us," Kai retorted immediately. "I can promise you if we poke our heads out for as much as a second Joshua will swoop down on us like a vulture."

"Fine, but the mirror thing," Bonnie insisted and waved her hand at him.

Kai rolled his eyes. But he sat down in front of the mirror and chanted in Latin. Her Latin had improved a little since the last time he cast that spell, but still all she understood was secrets and reveal.

Reveal hidden secrets, Bonnie thought that was the correct translation.

The surface of the mirror shimmered. The image shifted and she saw Kol, Rebekah, Lucy and her Grams were back at Kol's apartment. Kol was pacing and checking his phone.

"Where's Bonnie?" he growled. "She should be back by now."

"I'm sure she's fine," Lucy said. "After all, the girl did take out Black John."

"Did you see how Black John broke into a thousand shards and simply exploded?" Rebekah asked with a shudder. "A millennia and I have yet to see anything that tops that."

"It would be the physical representation of what Bonnie did to his crystal skull," Lucy explained.

"I wouldn't be too sure about it," Sheila said wringing her hands. The sight made guilt pool in Bonnie's stomach. Sheila looked so small and frail. Normally, Bonnie forgot how old she was, but now she saw it. "Malachai doesn't strike me as a reliable sort of fellah."

Kai snorted. "I'm reliable."

"Totally," Bonnie said sarcastically. "Like how when your dad tried to trap me in Portland and your entire rescue mission consisted of sending a text!"

"If that failed, I would have lifted the spell the second I was coven leader," Kai said flashing a smile.

He slid closer to her and she pushed him back. Once again, she shot him a disgusted look.

"Do you even hear yourself when you talk?"

"Yes, and I'm awesome, charming and -"

Bonnie covered his mouth with her hand. He stared at her wide-eyed. "Would you shut up already? Cassie just ran into Kol's living room."

They both turned their attention back to the mirror. Kai threw his arm around her shoulder and she groaned. But let it stay there.

"Cassie," Sheila ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you hurt? Where's Bonnie?"

"We almost got caught and she stayed with Kai to make sure he got out of there alright."

"Kai?" Kol snarled. "Bloody hell, she's likely dead already -"

"I honestly don't think he would hurt her," Cassie said and then grimaced. "Well not tonight anyway. They're probably lying low. Bonnie can't teleport or anything because her magic was almost gone and she had to cast a last minute spell to -"

"Let me guess," Kol growled. "She was trying to protect Kai."

"Obviously," Lucy snorted. "Even I saw how the two of them worked as a team to get out of there last time."

"Well would you look at that, Bonster -" Kai crooned.

Bonnie groaned. "Don't -"

"You like me. Even your boyfriend knows it. And your cousin ships it."

"No way," Bonnie said and slapped his arm. "I don't like you, but I don't like to leave people behind. Even idiots like you."

"Words hurt, Bon. Speaking of are you hurt?"

"No, you?"

"I could fake an injury if you'll play nurse for me," he said and gave her a heated look.

Bonnie shoved him. "Ew. No way."

She tried to float one of the pillows and gave up. She touched her hand under her nose and checked for blood.

"You don't have a nosebleed, but like I said we're stuck here until your powers return."

Kai ran his hand along the mirror surface and cleared it.

Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself as she eyed the bed apprehensively.

XXX

Lucy calmed Sheila down and watched as Kol walked her out. He was taking her back to the hotel room she was staying in. Sheila had set up some impressive wards and Lucy knew Joshua would never be able to get in. Assuming he would even try. As far as Joshua knew Bonnie had gone rogue along with the New Englanders.

But now that Sheila was out of the way, Lucy didn't feel very calm. She paced the length of Rebekah's room as the other girl removed her makeup.

"Would you sit down already, love?" Rebekah complained. "You're driving me mad."

"Me?" Lucy snapped. "My cousin is missing and I can't find her."

"What happened to all of the reassurance you gave Sheila?"

"I lied so she didn't panic. But here's the thing I don't trust Kai and maybe Joshua has her locked up in his dungeon."

"Don't be dramatic. I'm certain the Geminis don't have an actual dungeon," Rebekah said as her fingers worked her hair into a braid.

"Actually according to Cassie they do."

Rebekah turned around and looked at her. Her green eyes danced with excitement.

"Truly? A coven with a dungeon? That sounds like my kind of decorating."

"Is that in any way helpful?" Lucy demanded.

Rebekah sighed. She took Lucy's hands and pulled her down on her lap. She brushed her hair aside and placed a chaste kiss to her lips.

"Bonnie will be fine. She's strong and she's clever. Clever enough to know it's best to lie low until morning. You heard Cassie, Bonnie has simply run out of magic. If I had to guess she is at Kai's treehouse or perhaps Joshua bought whatever trick they played."

"Maybe we should check for her?" Lucy chewed on her bottom lip.

"Let us presume Joshua is aware Kai and Bonnie aided the New Englanders, if he has half a brain he is simply waiting for us to lead him to them. Best to wait and see if they resurface on their own in the morning."

Lucy put her head on Rebekah's shoulder. "I hate waiting."

"I know, my darling," Rebekah stroked her back. "You're too headstrong to wait however, it's the best thing for Bonnie. In the meantime, perhaps I can distract you?"

Lucy smiled in spite of herself.

XXX

Kai flopped down on the bed. He crossed his legs and put his arms behind her head. To make matters worse, he grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

Man, she wanted to set him on fire. But unlike Kol, he wouldn't heal if she unleashed on him. Of course, her magic was drained so there wasn't much she could do anyway.

"What are you doing?"

"Me?" he pointed to himself, still smiling in a faux innocent way that she didn't buy. "I'm going to bed. What are you doing?"

"Wondering where I can sleep. Don't you have a couch or something?"

"Nope."

"Then you can act like the gentleman you most definitely aren't and take the floor."

Kai pretended to think about it. "Nope."

"Oh my God! Do you have any idea how totally frustrating and lame you are?"

Kai flashed another thousand-kilowatt second and patted the spot on the bed next to him.

"Hop in. I promise I won't bite, I'm not your vamp boyfriend you know."

"Fine, but try anything and I'll strangle you in your sleep."

"Music to my ears. You really know how to turn a guy on, Bunny."

"Total sicko," Bonnie muttered to herself.

Bonnie got under the covers and slipped off her pants. She tossed them carelessly aside on the floor. Her attempts to make herself comfortable didn't work. How could they when Kai was lying there next to her? The end result was that she lay there staring at the ceiling and thinking about how worried her Grams must be.

"You know they could do a locator spell," Kai mused.

"They could, but they know as well as we do they risk leading Joshua straight to us. How long do you think we need to hide out?"

"Only until he's dead."

"Yeah, I'm not staying here that long," Bonnie said with a snort.

Kai laughed. "You're kinda mean, Bonster. I dig it."

"You would," Bonnie said before they lapsed into silence. When it grew too pressing, she felt compelled to speak to break this tension that was building between them. She was all too aware of Kai's warmth. Even from across the bed she could sense it and she could feel his presence in the air. Kai's presence always filled the air with an electric static like the crackling of thunder. "Why does this place look exactly like your room?"

"Because it's what my room should be."

"Oh."

He meant safe and peaceful. A sanctuary the way her bedroom at her dad's and her Grams' had been when she was growing up. A place of solitude she could retreat to whenever the world became too much. When being the mediator between Elena and Caroline's constant arguments was exhausting. Which was at least once a week.

"Do you miss your friends?"

"The ones from Mystic Falls?"

"Yeah, duh. I don't mean those losers from Cassie's crew you hang with here. And do us both a favor and don't count the ancient bloodsucking fiends in your group of friends."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. Kai's hatred of the Originals was most of the time scary, but other times like now it was just petulant. He sounded so obviously jealous of Kol that any ounce of threat those words might have carried drifted away.

"Yeah, I do. Elena not so much we got in a fight, but Caroline and Matt? I really miss them."

"I didn't like Elena. She's boring. Now that Katherine's a hoot."

Bonnie grimaced. "And that right there is your entire problem."

"Somebody's jealous."

"You wish."

"I do," Kai said and reached out for her hand. His fingers brushed hers and she closed her eyes to block out the thrill that went through her. "What happened with Ellen?"

Bonnie once again ignored how he deliberately got everyone's name wrong. "I told her to stay away from vampires because she has a chance at a normal life. And she has no idea how lucky she is for it."

"Let me guess, she got pissy because you're shacking up with your very own vamp."

"Pretty much yeah," Bonnie said quietly. "I know it makes me a hypocrite, but -" she rolled over to face him. "I'm never going to be normal. My witchy family tree saw to that, but her -" she broke off because she didn't know how to finish that sentence without saying too much.

Kai turned to face her. His arm was under his head and he gave her a serious look. One that for a split second allowed her to believe he actually felt something real for her. But she wouldn't be fooled again. Nothing Kai felt was real and it didn't matter that it made her heart ache. That was exactly why she needed to stay away.

"She can have that. She can be normal unlike us."

"Exactly."

It was a little unnerving how well Kai seemed to know what she was thinking. But he'd always been like that.

"Sometimes, I think about it or I used to, but I would choose magic every time."

Bonnie smiled wanly. "Me too."

"And if she wants to spend her life chasing vampires, I say let her."

"You're just saying that because you don't have any friends and you don't want any."

The second the words were out of her lips, she regretted them. Kai was a jerk and a literal sociopath, but it wasn't his fault. Just like it wasn't his fault he didn't have many friends. If she'd grown up the way Kai had, would she have any friends?

Would she care?

"Low blow, but I can't say you're wrong. I don't have any friends and maybe I don't know anything about it. Still, I know vampires and I know getting in too deep never ends well for our kind. Vamps they like to subjugate witches, have them at their beck and call."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's not true."

Kai rolled onto his side and she turned to face him.

"We were friends, weren't we?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "We were."

"Kol and me, we were sort of friends."

"That's because you're the only other person around as homicidal as him."

Kai's serious expression faded and he chuckled. "You might have a point there, Bonster."

"Do you really think you can do it? You know," she hesitated not sure if she actually wanted the truth or not. "Trap Joshua in one of those -"

"Alternate dimensions?" Kai looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's tricky and it'll take a lot of power including an eclipse, but yeah, it can be done."

Bonnie rolled onto her back. She stared at the ceiling and thought about it.

"That sounds like a powerful spell."

"One that will require you at full strength and me with all the magic I can take from Jo."

"We're casting it together?"

Up until now, Kai had been frustratingly tight-lipped about the spell casting. What she had managed to learn had been through Kol's collection of grimoires, which was extensive. But the Geminis guarded their secrets well and there hadn't been much beyond a few obscure references to it.

"Yeah, unless you want dear old dad to escape us."

"I was thinking," Bonnie said slowly. "There's a spell I've read about. It can be used to incapacitate vampires by burning their image and throwing the ashes at them, maybe we can tweak something like that to knock Joshua out for the time we need."

"I'd need to see your witch's cookbook, but yeah, we should be able to work that. You're wicked powerful and I'm wicked smart."

"Not sure about that last one, but yeah I am."

Kai laughed.

Bonnie turned onto her side and closed her eyes. Her head was pounding. It felt too full of thoughts and exhaustion still burned through her after the spell to destroy Black John's crystal skull.

It wasn't a surprise when Kai crossed the space between them. He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled close. Buried his face in the nape of her neck. And she knew she should push him away, tell him she was still with Kol, but she didn't. Because the horrible truth was that in spite of everything, she missed Kai. Missed how warm he was and the way her magic thrummed through her veins at his touch. Even now when she was dangerously exhausted from spellcasting she could feel a flicker of her power in answer to Kai's proximity.

"You smell nice," he murmured.

"Just shut up and go to sleep, would you?"

"Sure, just as soon as you admit you kinda like me too."

"Not sure I do so I can't answer that."

Kai chuckled. "You're feisty tonight. Admit it, tonight was a rush."

"Shut up already," Bonnie said with an eye roll.

The truth was, she hated the life and death crap they are were always doing. Absolutely loathed it, but it didn't seem to matter in the heat of the moment. When her blood was soaring with heat and magic. It was a rush in a way she could never explain or even imagine.

Kai squeezed her tighter and she sighed. But at least he had stopped talking so that was something. She closed her eyes and tried fall asleep. But her head was too full of thoughts, feelings and fears. She was literally hiding out from Joshua. The only thing standing between her and Kai's death was the hope that his cloaking spell on his tree house was powerful. Powerful enough to keep out a powerful Gemini coven leader.

It reminded her of the early days when she was hiding from Damon. Back before she truly knew what it meant to be a witch or what a vampire was.

The idea of a vampire like Damon threatening her now was laughable. It was comforting to think if Damon came for her now, she would destroy him with one look. But since he was trapped in Emily's vampire tomb that wasn't happening.

Kai's hand trailed along her side and warmth shot through her. He pulled her closer and she sighed. His fingers caressed her lightly and she was struck by the difference in his personality and his touch. He was always so forceful and even a little scary at times, but his touch was always gentle.

It occurred to her Kai never touched her unless it was calculated. A deliberate part of a sexual advance. He never touched her casually in passing. Their shoulders never brushed by accident. No, when Kai touched her it was because he wanted to and he wanted her to notice him.

"You feel tense," Kai murmured.

"It's been a weird day."

Kai pressed his palm firmly against her and she mewled when an electric crackle touched her skin. She squirmed when he siphoned magic back inside of her and she felt herself grow too hot in response to his touch. Her head fell on his shoulder and he brought her closer. His lips grazed her ear.

"I love the noises you make," he said in a rough voice that turned her insides to jelly.

"Kai, don't. We should stop."

She squirmed in his arms and Kai stopped. The electric feeling from his siphoning underneath her skin stopped. He pulled her closer and his warmth started to lull her to sleep. Through her clothes she could feel Kai's warmth and his strong muscles. She could smell his cologne, it was sharp and fresh. Tonight, he smelled a little of sweat and it was comforting in a weird way. Everything about Kai was like that and she hated that he wasn't the guy she had first thought he was.

XXX

Kai watched Bonnie sleep and stroked her hair. When he had first told her, he missed her it hadn't been an easy thing to admit. He hadn't known he could feel anything remotely like attachment to another person. Even with Jo everything he felt was superficial and had more to do with what she could do for him.

With Bonnie it wasn't like that. He just liked seeing her smile. And yes, he wanted her. A lot and he didn't ever want her with anyone else. It was why he kept trying to kill Kol. But that had turned out to be a lot harder than he first thought mainly because Bonnie kept interfering.

Bonnie rolled over in his arms and nuzzled closer. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. She sighed and a small smile graced her lips. Knowing he was risking electrocution, but unable to resist, he pressed his lips to her forehead. She moaned and pressed herself closer.

"Kai."

Instantly, his mind was filled with images of the things they could do that would make her moan his name like that again. He saw her sprawled out underneath him as he thrust into her. Or her on top of him and her little hand around his neck as she rode him. There were other images as well like Bonnie on her knees as she blew him or her sitting on his face.

He hardened and it only got worse when she squirmed into him. He felt every curve of her body and he had to take a deep breath to calm down.

"Never going to fucking sleep now," he muttered.

"Kai?" she blinked and looked up at him. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," he touched his forehead to hers and stroked her cheek. "When are you going to admit you want me as much as I want you?"

"Kai come on, I'm still with Kol."

"For how long?"

Kai could see the confliction in her eyes. Her green eyes sparkled then hardened. Her jaw tensed and she gave him a hard look.

"At least until this deal is done and you're coven leader. You saw to that, remember?"

Ouch, Kai winced and Bonnie shoved him aside. She sat up against the headboard and gave him a dirty look.

"Are you seriously mad about that? How long did you think this thing with Kol is gonna last anyway? He is going to live forever and witches can live a long time, but not that long," Kai stopped talking and gave her a dark look as he felt possessive rage boil up inside of him. "Wait - is he going to turn you?"

He saw the shock written all over her face.

"What? Are you insane?"

"Why not? You're all cozy with the Original vamps."

"You're insane," Bonnie snarled. "For the record, I don't ever want to transition and even if I did it is none of your business."

Kai held his hands up. "Fine boundary crossed. I can't help it, emotions, boundaries with the whole personal questions -" he shrugged. "It's all just confusing."

"Right, sociopath. Is this what you woke me for?"

"I didn't wake you," Kai said and eyed her. "But since you're awake, you wanna make out?"

"Oh my God," Bonnie rolled her eyes.

Kai watched a little amused as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her.

XXX

There was someone warm in bed next to Bonnie. Kol wasn't exactly warm or cold. It was more like he was constantly room temperature. Sometimes, when he had recently fed he was warm. But this didn't feel like Kol and her powers responded to the presence of another witch.

"Kai?" she mumbled.

It couldn't be anyone else. The air crackled with electricity like before a storm. Just as it always did when he was nearby. Kol's aura was different, older and more deafening. It was like constantly having death nearby. At least how she imagined death, but over time she had become so used to it she hardly noticed.

Kai's arms encircled her. He drew her into his arms and she desperately wanted to ignore the way his touch affected hers. She felt that same electric current from the air seep into her. Her whole body felt alive and like it was on fire.

His hands slid down her back to caress her bum. She blushed and put her hands on his chest. She turned her face up to his and blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"You'd better move that hand before I set you on fire."

Kai chuckled. "You're hot when you give death threats. Anyone ever tell you that, Bunny?"

Furious, Bonnie made good on her threats. She put her hands on his chest, gripping his T-shirt firmly. Taking her time, she looked him in the eyes. Kai's eyes were an intense shade of deep blue. A teasing smile played at the corner of his lips.

And Bonnie flashed an evil smile before zapping him with a dose of her magic. She felt it thrum through her whole body as every single one of her senses came to life. It shot out from her core and through her fingertips. The spell was electric and she hit Kai with a voltage just below dangerous.

His body spasmed and his arms tightened around her. His eyes drifted closed as a content smile passed his lips. A groan escaped him and she let go, realizing he was enjoying it.

"You know how to make it hurt in all the best places, babe," Kai said in a moan.

Bonnie jerked aside. " _What_ is wrong with you?"

"We've been over this. You know what's wrong with me. The bigger question is, what's wrong with you? Because from where I'm sitting you have a type, Bunny. It's evil and dangerous."

"Ugh, you're like the worst."

Bonnie shoved him aside and got out of the bed. She didn't bother changing, she just cast the same mirror spell Kai had cast yesterday to check if the coast was clear.

Much to her annoyance, Kai wolf whistled. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Pretty impressive, Bonster."

"Shut up and let go of me."

"Don't tell me you're still twitchy because you think I might siphon you."

"That's not the problem. You're an ass."

She grabbed his arms and tossed them aside. She caught a glimpse of Kai rolling his eyes. She elbowed him for good measure.

"Ouch."

"The coast looks clear and my magic is back so what do you say I teleport us back to Kol's?"

"Sure, Bunny. Let's go running back to your vampire boyfriend."

"Do you have a better plan?"

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm staying here," he flashed a heated smile. "Wanna stay with me? Mi casa es su casa."

"Oh my God, listen you 90's reject, I'll see you at school."

"Wait," Kai caught her wrist. His touch was light and she hesitated. "I don't want you to go back."

"I'll be fine."

"I miss you," he said and his finger stroked the inside of her wrist. A shiver ran through her. "And the thought of you with Kol makes me insane."

"You're always insane."

Bonnie was aware it was cruel, but she didn't flinch. Instead, she met Kai's gaze with a hard look of her own.

"Fair point," Kai said with an evil smirk. "But I guess it makes me _crazier_."

"That sounds like a you problem. And I have to go," Bonnie checked the time on her phone. "School starts now."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Why not? Wait – dumb question, but I don't think Joshua is going to attack the school. Especially not with two Original vampires and half the coven against him roaming the hallways. You Geminis are big on secrecy, right?"

"Valid point. Whatever my old man is going to do next it will be big and well planned. And probably super private."

"Exactly, so I'm going. And if he does attack? Well I can handle Joshua now that Black John is out of the picture."

"Let's talk at school. All of us, we need to come up with a plan to trap Joshua."

"Which means we need to lure him out into the open," Bonnie said following his train of thoughts. "Then I think we should have every witch and warlock we can find throw their weight against him. When he is incapacitated we can cast the spell to create a lunar eclipse and send him to his very own prison world."

"I love the way your mind works, so twisted," Kai said with a grin and a crazy eye roll. She shot him a dirty look and he winked at her. "But you can count me in, Bunny. As for how to lure him out? Give me a couple of hours to scheme and I'll have a plan."

"Good," Bonnie grinned. "Because we are going to need everyone on this."

"I know," Kai said. "And it's not like I have a choice. I've burned that bridge."

"No choice there either. Joshua has been scheming to kill you. Scheming is a big thing with you Geminis, huh?"

"The biggest," Kai agreed. "But you should hop along, Bunny. I'm sure your vamp boyfriend is worried."

Bonnie ignored the jab and teleported back to Kol's apartment. The world spun and her body felt alive with magic. Slowly, the room came into focus. She was in the living room. She had aimed for the bedroom she shared with Kol, but her teleportation still needed some work. Her breathing was labored and when she touched her fingers underneath her nose, they came away with blood on them. But she was fine and she would be better once she rested. No wonder many witches preferred covens, the few times she had channeled others like her she had been stronger, could cast more spells before she was pushed to the brink.

Kol was on the couch. Rebekah and Lucy were there as well. They were snuggling on the couch, but they stopped the second she appeared. Lucy rose to her feet and flashed a wicked smile.

"Thank God, cuz. I was starting to worry."

"Our magic was tapped out and I needed to lie low after the attack. Joshua was hot on our heels."

"Where did you go?" it was Kol, he was looking at her with a mixture of relief and suspicion.

"Kai's treehouse. Place must have some serious magic around it because they never showed."

"I'm gonna call Sheila, she's going to be so relieved."

Kol stood up and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of her. He pulled her into a hug. She returned it and she knew she would have to tell him, how she and Kai had escaped. What they had done to trick Joshua.

"Where are the details?" Rebekah demanded in a huff.

And honestly, Bonnie didn't blame her. She was being deliberately vague and Rebekah wasn't stupid. Of course, she would notice.

Bonnie gave them a watered down version. That she and Kai had tried to distract Joshua, but not about the kiss. Or that they had snuggled. Kol looked absolutely murderous whereas Rebekah looked as if she couldn't decide if she was shocked or amused. Kol growled low in his throat and she knew that meant he had read between the lines.

"It didn't mean anything," Bonnie said quickly.

Kol's eyes hardened and his gaze turned black. "If it didn't mean anything then why must you always protect Kai?"

"Because we need him once we take out Joshua. Unless you're still alright with killing all of the Geminis? Or maybe just leaving them leaderless until the twins come of age? Because that's cruel and unnecessary."

"Fine by me."

"Kol!" Bonnie snapped. "There are innocent coven members -"

"You have to admit they likely have already suffered plenty under Joshua's reign," Rebekah interjected.

"Fine," Kol growled. "Kai is off-limits I get it. Unless Jo can be convinced to take his place."

"You and I both know she won't survive the merge. So you can't kill him before or after."

"What about that alternative solution to the merge the two of you were working on?"

"I think maybe I found something, but it's not the point," Bonnie said and shook her head. "I chose you, Kol. And you have to trust me."

Bonnie heard her own words as if they were coming from someone else. At this point, she was straight-up lying to Kol and he didn't deserve that. He was far from perfect, but he had been good to her, which should count for something. And she did care about him yet not the same way she had cared about Kai.

If Kai wasn't a sociopath would she be with him now?

The answer was frightening in its simplicity, yes.

Yes, she would be with Kai.

But what did that make Kol? The consolation prize?

No, Kol was more than that. But things were complicated and doomed to end with them in a way things wouldn't have been if he was still a warlock. But she did care about him and the thought of losing Kol made her frantic. It was then something occurred to her, something so painfully obvious she should have realized it a long time ago.

"I love you," Bonnie blurted without thinking.

Kol's eyes widened and he looked at her in amazement. He held her to him and she put her head on his chest, eyes closing as she inhaled his familiar scent.

"I love you too, little witch."

"Well this is positively vomit inducing," Rebekah drawled.

Bonnie blushed and a cold feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. If only Kol were the only boy she loved.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has stayed with this fic. You're all the best! We're nearing the last 1/3 of the fic. And I am so excited to see what you make of the next few chapters. Anyway, about this chapter, yes, Black John is officially dead. Bonnie offed him last chapter, but we didn't found out until this one. And what do you make of the revelation that Bonnie loves both Kai and Kol? I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr, I still take requests for bonkai and kennett. I know it's been a lot of calbrina lately, but the caos fandom is shipping calbrina as hard as I am, lol.**

 **\- Izzy**

 **I just finished the Escape and I don't know how else to contact the guest reviewers so I'm just going to be posting my replies to them here along with replies to the guest reviewers to this fic. I'll also post them to my other kennett updates just in the hopes they see them.**

 **The escape responses:**

 **To the guest who loved the ending and wants an epilogue of Bonnie as a badass crime lady, don't give me ideas! Thank you so much for reviewing, you really made my day!**

 **Guest: Aww back at you! Thank you!**

 **Guest: Thank you so much! And thank you for telling me to keep writing, that's so sweet! I definitely will!**

 **To the guest reviewer who's read the escape multiple times, omg I am over the moon! Thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it!**


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

Kol thought of this morning with a mixture of both fury and satisfaction. If only he were the only man Bonnie loved then things would be so much simpler. All the same, he felt his plan was brilliant. It was some of the most diabolical scheming he had ever concocted.

And Kai was about to be taken out by human law. The one area in, which not even the Geminis could weasel him out of trouble. Not that they would now that Kai had revealed his disloyalty and best of all? His plan would leave Kai at their mercy because unlike Bonnie, Kol had no compunction about destroying the entire coven.

The mind-blowing sex had simply been a bonus and the way Bonnie had screamed his name, he grew hard just thinking about it. He glanced at her as she emptied her books in the locker. She had worn a turtleneck to hide the bruises already forming on her throat. The sleeves covered her wrists, which were also bruised. It was rougher than he normally would have been, but it was all part of his master plan.

Kol tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. He kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you," Kol murmured.

He simply hoped Bonnie would forgive him this. She smiled at him and it took his breath away.

"I love you too."

Kol walked away, ready to finish his frame job. This would be so much fun and a lot easier without Alaric Saltzman running around. Humans, who couldn't be compelled were usually more of a nuisance than anything else.

Kol compelled the receptionist to let him in to the see the principal. The principal looked up and frowned at him when he didn't knock.

"Young man -"

His protest died on his lips when Kol caught his eye to compel him.

"Ring the police, would you?" Kol asked with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Of course, why?"

"You want to report an assault on one of your students. Her name is Bonnie Bennett and Kai Parker has hurt her. Very badly. She will deny it however, if you check her for injuries you will find she has them."

Kol whistled as he sauntered out of the principal's office. Certain that his compulsion had done the trick. To make his day even better, he ran into Kai on his way to gym class.

"What do you look so smug for?" Kai asked with a dark look.

Kol grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him against the locker.

"I know what twisted game you're playing with Bonnie. Just as I know about the deal and rest assured I will end you, Malachai. One way or the other."

Kai snarled and his expression turned to furious at the mention of his given name.

"Just kill me already."

Kol laughed and let go of him.

"That would be nice and easy for you. Put you out of your misery and then what? I lose Bonnie because she still has feelings for you. Mortals."

"Fuck you," Kai snarled. His hand twitched and Kol knew he was wishing for magic of his own. "You should watch your back."

"Have a nice day," Kol smirked.

Still laughing he walked away.

XXX

Bonnie had just sat down next to Cassie in English class when the police walked in. She tensed and exchanged looks with Cassie, who was as confused as she was. When she looked at Kol, she knew he had been expecting them.

"What is going on?" she whispered.

Kol shrugged and feigned innocence. Her eyes narrowed and she knew better than to believe him.

"Bonnie Bennett would you please come with us?" one of the officers said addressing the class.

"Bonnie," the substitute said when she made no move to go with them.

"Call my Grams," Bonnie said to Cassie.

Normally she would have asked Kol, would have counted on him to get her out of trouble. But this time was different, she knew Kol was behind this. She just wasn't sure why because she knew with a certainty that scared her, he would never do anything to her hurt. That didn't mean he wouldn't do something stupid that would cause her a headache to get someone else and she had a sneaky suspicion she knew, who it was.

Bonnie rose to her feet and silently followed the police officers to the squad car. There was a part of her that grew scared when she saw it. Would she die in police custody? Then she remembered she was a witch and if anyone tried anything, she would disappear in the blink of an eye. Or better yet, do what Kol and Kai would do and tear the officers to shreds.

XXX

Kai was having a bad day. He itched to tear Kol apart after that run in earlier today, but he needed wait until they had dealt with Joshua. Once that was done, he and the bloodsucker would have their own showdown.

At least that was Kai's plan when he was in third period calculus until the police officers showed up to take him away. His whole class stared like this was the best thing they had ever seen. And who knew maybe in their boring little lives it was. Others on the other hand like some of the boys he frightened looked as if this had been a long time coming. And Kai had to hand it to them, they were probably right.

Kai followed them with a cheery façade to the squad car. He whistled and put on a show of looking unconcerned. But the truth was he was seething with fury. He didn't need to think hard to know this was Kol's doing.

"So what am I being charged with?"

"Assault," the female officer said.

Her badge read 'Morgan'.

Kai snorted. "Yeah, right. Who did I assault?"

"A girl named Bonnie Bennett," officer Morgan said.

Oh well if he was charged with assaulting Bonnie it explained the disgusted looks she kept sending hom. It wasn't surprising yet Kai found it hurt to be accused of hurting Bonnie. She was the one person, he never wanted to hurt. No matter how crazy she made him. Because she was Bonnie.

"That's ridiculous. I'd never hurt Bonster."

"Say that to the judge," officer Morgan said and turned around to face him.

That was when Kai's warlock instincts went into overdrive. Something was off and when he looked into her eyes, he knew the officers were compelled.

Now how had Kol pulled that off when he hadn't left school grounds all day? And who had called the police?

As if his thoughts had summoned him, Kol was leaning against the door frame of school's front entrance.

"What did you do?" Kai hissed at Kol.

Kol smirked and he saw evil in his dark eyes. "I simply compelled certain school official to ring the police on you. And my beloved sister compelled the entire Portland police force."

Kai saw red and he pictured staking Kol, but he knew now wasn't the time. First, he needed to clean up this mess.

He siphoned the magic out of one his emergency Sanskrit rings. He sent a message to Cassie to save him. He knew it was a long shot, Cassie hated him. But they were a part of the same coven and they both wanted the same thing, which meant she might be the only person motivated to get him out of jail.

XXX

Bonnie had spent the entire morning getting photos of her bruises. The aftermath of her consensual sex with Kol. A fact she had tried to explain to the police, but they seemed to have decided Kai had assaulted her. Nothing she said made a difference, which meant they must be under Kol's compulsion.

It was clever really, if she wasn't so furious with him, she might have even acknowledged that. Kol had used human law to take out his competition. Probably fully aware she would never forgive him if he killed Kai. But if he went away to prison by mistake? Well that could be explained away. Assuming Bonnie was a complete moron, which she wasn't and was going to explain to Kol as she broke up with him for going behind her back and thinking she was an idiot.

Then she was going to strangle Kai for not leaving well enough alone. He just had to chase her around all because he couldn't have her.

And now they had a big mess on their hands when they needed to focus on Joshua.

The police escorted her past Kai, who was being brought in for interrogation. His eyes met hers and she shivered at the emptiness she saw in them.

"I know you're innocent and I'm going to stop this," Bonnie said.

"We both know, who is behind this," Kai said.

The police officers with him pushed him along and the officer with Bonnie escorted her to the main area where her Grams was waiting.

"Bonnie," Sheila cried and pulled her into a hug. "Who hurt you? Was it Malachai?"

"No and no one hurt me. Kol is trying to frame Kai."

"But why?"

"Because he's jealous and it's a crazy vampire thing, but I'll take care of it."

Bonnie moved away.

"No, honey. This is exactly the sort of situation I'm trying protect you from. I'll speak with Elijah and -"

"Grams," Bonnie interrupted. "I'll take care of it. I can handle Kol, but you need to help Kai. If the cops call Joshua he's dead. Literally dead."

"Are you certain you want to protect him?"

"Yes," Bonnie hissed. "He doesn't deserve whatever Joshua will do to him. He's just a fucked up kid and why am I the only person that can see that?"

"Because you always see the best in everyone, but I will take care of it. You just get Kol to stop playing games before he gets us all killed. If he and Malachai wish to feud they may do so after we handle our other problems."

"Thank you. That's exactly what I'm going to tell him."

XXX

Kai wasn't sure how long he was in the cell for or why no one had bothered to ask him anything. He had been arrested once last year for underage drinking at a party. He had been questioned and sent home with his extremely pissed off father. Sometimes, he could still feel the pain on his back when he thought about that night's lesson.

This time though the cops didn't seem interested in following normal procedure and why would they when they were compelled? But when Joshua walked in, he knew there was still one part of the standard procedure they remembered.

"What are you doing here?" Kai said and flopped down on the bed.

It was an act. For once he was actually scared. Joshua was wearing an expression of arrogance he had never seen before. It could only mean the day his father killed him had finally arrived.

"I received an interesting phone call about my son, who is apparently not only an abomination, but also a felon. If only this was the first time, I've had to pick you up from a jail cell."

"Something tells me this will be the last time, pops."

"So it would seem."

One of the compelled police officers joined Joshua on the other side of the bars. For a brief moment, Kai allowed himself to indulge in the fantasy that it was Joshua, who was incarcerated. The moment was gone as soon as it came. One small comfort was that even if Joshua did manage to kill him, Bonnie would avenge him.

"Are you ready to bail him out?"

"In a moment. I'd like a few minutes alone with my son assuming that's alright."

"No, it's fine, but I must do something first."

The officer raised their gun and in the blink of an eye Kai was on his feet.

"Great," Kai muttered.

"Compulsion?" Joshua asked.

"No, shit dad."

The officer pulled back the safety and Kai looked frantically for a place to take cover, but there was nowhere.

XXX

"KOL!" Bonnie screamed as she tracked him down behind the school. He was there with Rebekah and a few of the other witches and warlocks. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?"

Kol looked up and she saw it all in his eyes. His expression was hard and her eyes were dark. There was pure hatred in them, but not of her. It was all aimed at Kai. The worst part was the anger and betrayal she saw there. Rebekah at least had the grace to look remorseful, but apparently, she didn't feel bad enough about it to turn Kol down. Bonnie hadn't expected anything else. If there was one thing, she knew about Rebekah it was how much she loved her brothers in spite of who they were.

"I'm certain I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you? Because it looks like you framed Kai for an attack that never took place! Now he's in jail!"

"Already?" Kol smiled a crooked smile. The one that made him look young. Normally it made her heart skip a beat, but now she saw what she had seen that first night when they met. A happy homicidal maniac. "That was quick."

"Whatever compulsion you laid down on the police you're going to undo. Now. Before I kill you."

"How precisely?" Rebekah questioned with a smirk. "I'm curious to hear how you plan to kill an Original, darling."

"What attack?" Nick asked.

Bonnie blushed thinking of how she had gotten those bruises in the first place.

"It's nothing. Not important."

"I said," Rebekah said with frost in her voice. "How precisely do you plan to kill my brother?"

"Just undo it," Bonnie snarled. "Or I'll never forgive you."

"Never is a long time when you're a vampire."

"Just undo it," Bonnie growled. "Or you will learn just how long I can hold a grudge."

"I think not," Kol rose to his feet and walked over. He lowered his voice so that they could speak privately. "Don't be difficult, love."

"Difficult? They will call Joshua and he will kill Kai."

"I'm rather pleased to hear it."

Bonnie shot him a look of disgust.

"You make me sick."

Bonnie turned on her heel and left. She ignored Kol when he called her name. When he caught up to her, she teleported away.

In the blink of an eye she was back at the sheriff's station.

XXX

Kai thought he had seen everything, but he couldn't have been more wrong. Joshua was muttering an ancient curse of death one that was irreversible. It would kill him slowly. Then Sheila uncloaked herself along with Cassie. She was standing behind Joshua and her eyes were white. Cassie took a step back and gestured for Kai to remain silent.

She put her hands on Joshua's temples. In the next instant, he collapsed on the ground, crumpled into a heap. She smirked and eyed Kai with that unknowing look of hers.

"He almost had you there, boy."

"I know. Thanks. I'm guessing Bonnie sent you. And I guess Cassie got my message?"

"She did," Sheila inclined her head regally. "Now let's see about getting you out of here."

"Yes, but I didn't want to come," Cassie said with an eye roll. "Now that you're not in danger, I'm going to check on my coven."

Cassie teleported away. In the blink of an eye she was gone.

Sheila waved her arms and the jail cell sprang open.

"Impressive."

"You think this is the first time I've sprung a man from jail?"

"The Bonster didn't tell me her grandma was this cool. She's been holding out on me."

"That's because I don't want her to know how much trouble I used to get into. Now grab your father and hop to. We need to teleport out of here."

"Where are we going?"

"I have a friend, who can contain Joshua until the ceremony."

"Lead the way."

Sheila teleported all three of them and Kai was shocked to see Sheila had taken them to Elijah. As usual he was wearing a suit and a neutral expression when they arrived. He definitely knew they were coming.

"Not this guy," Kai complained. "He's Kol's brother."

"I had noticed," Sheila replied dryly.

"I am aware of my brother's latest antics," Elijah said calmly. "They are childish to say the least. Our number one focus now is to repay Sheila for her help in defeating Niklaus and since her wish is to help you defeat Joshua then we will. Once that is done as far as I am concerned you and Kol can attempt to kill each other for the better part of the next century."

"Aren't you supposed to be the moral brother?" Kai asked raising an eyebrow.

"Moral is a relevant term," Katherine said walking in from the other room. "Oh, it's the cute one."

"Katerina."

"It was only an observation, 'Lijah."

Kai fake gagged.

Sheila's phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. "Excuse me, it's my granddaughter."

Sheila walked out of the living room. Kai swaggered over to the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. He grinned at Elijah.

"So you have a place in Portland too now? Because let me tell you when I become coven leader I would rather the Mikaelsons stick to their original pact with my coven. No offence."

Elijah eyed his feet on the coffee table distastefully, but he did not say anything.

"Certainly, I cannot say I have any interest in visiting that state. As for our location, we are in New York."

"Check out Sheila teleporting across the country at her age."

"She's a Bennett," Katherine said as if it explained everything, which it did.

XXX

"You're where with Kai?" Bonnie asked.

She must have heard her grandmother wrong or there was a bad connection. There was just no way Sheila was back in New York with Kai.

"I'm in New York. Elijah and Katherine have an apartment here."

"I'm on my way."

Bonnie hung up. She closed her eyes and pooled all of her magic. That world spinning feeling washed over her. She opened her eyes again and saw she was in the middle of a living room.

Sheila, Elijah, Katherine and Kai were all seated. Elijah looked particularly perturbed to have Kai present. But Bonnie noticed when Katherine wasn't looking, he would glance fondly at Sheila. Which was just too weird.

"I'm not going to let you go to jail for something you didn't do," Bonnie said.

"No worries, Bonster. We get the old man out of the way and I can use a little witch-y woo to deal with the police. Assuming someone can control your boyfriend and keep him out of my territory."

"Control Kol?" Katherine laughed. "Yes, because that has worked so well in the past."

Bonnie sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "I'll ask him to leave. I don't want to see him ever again. He crossed a major line."

"Poor Kol," Katherine said with a sulky expression that made her look as if she actually cared about him.

Maybe she did. Kol had mentioned before he thought Katherine was a blast.

"I understand," Elijah said. "I was thinking perhaps our family could go to our estate in Italy. We are all rather fond of it."

"Even Finn and he doesn't like anything. Or so I've heard," Katherine said with a smirk.

"Fine, I'll accept those terms," Kai said and grinned manically. "So what do you say we get that eclipse ready?"

"I'll call Cassie," Bonnie said.

"And I will call my siblings off," Elijah offered.

"You do that," Bonnie said.

XXX

Bonnie and Kai returned to Portland. They teleported to Cassie's house where the New Englanders had decided to meet up.

"Do you have the grimoire?" Cassie asked anxiously from the couch.

Bonnie nodded. "Now all we need is Jo."

"I couldn't convince her," Diana said with a grimace. "I'm sorry, but she doesn't wish to go against Joshua."

"Don't tell me she agrees with that manic," Bonnie muttered.

"Not at all," Diana said quickly and shot a guilty look at Kai. "But she also doesn't want to merge with Kai."

Kai cursed. "Oh, that sister of mine. What does she think I'm going to do? Set the coven on fire?"

"Is she wrong?" Bonnie demanded.

"Not really, but what does she care? She'll be dead."

"She won't leave the little kids in Kai's care," Diana said shooting Kai a dirty look.

"Now I'm just offended. What does she care? She'll be dead anyway."

"Oh my God," Bonnie groaned. "Would you just shut up so I can think?"

Kai chuckled, but raised his hands. He made a show of miming zipping his lips.

Bonnie paced the room and tried to recall everything she and Jo had discovered in their research so far. It wasn't much, but if she could combine a few spells it might just be enough to keep Jo alive.

"I know that look," Kai said after a couple of minutes. She should have known he couldn't stay quiet for long. "What kind of scheme are you cooking up?"

"I need a couple of hours with your family's grimoires," she said looking straight at Kai. "And I need your word that if Jo lives you will let her and the little kids live. All of them, including the twins."

"Aren't you missing something? If Jo and I merge she will be very dead."

"Not if I can pull this off. Do you promise?"

"Fine," Kai said from between clenched teeth. "But if they try to screw me or any of you for that matter all bets are off."

"Deal," Bonnie said before she could change her mind or any of the New Englanders could argue.

"Then let's go get you those grimoires."

When Kai held his hand out to her, she didn't hesitate to place hers in his. She teleported them out of there and they arrived right outside of his house.

"Why can I teleport inside of your home once I am inside, but I can't teleport in from the outside?" Bonnie asked as Kai unlocked the door.

"Dad put a spell on the place to keep people from popping in."

"Of course, he did."

"I'm guessing your Grams has done the same thing."

Kai opened the door and she followed him inside.

"Probably," Bonnie shrugged. "I didn't learn how to teleport until after I moved to Portland so I haven't tried."

"My guess? It wouldn't apply to you since you're a blood relative. At least that's how Joshua likes to seal all of his protective spells."

Bonnie started looking over the grimoires on the shelf, looking for the ones she and Jo had used for their research. There was another grimoire that technically belonged to Kol, but she had that in her bookbag so she didn't need to contact him for it. Luckily.

"That's not what you would do?"

"Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea. Assuming you trust all of your relatives. Me on the other hand? I know better."

"So what kind of protective ward would you use?"

Bonnie plucked a grimoire off the shelf.

Kai snorted. "Like I'm telling you. I've seen you tweak some pretty powerful spells. No way am I handing over one of my personal faves just like that."

"You are as paranoid as your dad," Bonnie said with an eye roll.

"Ouch, Bunny. That actually hurt."

"Whatever," Bonnie found the second grimoire. "That's everything. Now I just need a notebook and a pen."

"Going to do a little rewriting?"

"You bet. It's not glamorous and it might take a while, but once I'm done, I'll have a way for Jo to survive the merge."

"Great. Help yourself to anything in the office. In the meantime, I'm going to have a chat with sissy."

Kai was gone before she could protest. Bonnie settled down in the office chair and began reworking the spell.

XXX

"I'm not doing it you psycho," Jo crossed her arms and glowered at him.

"Why not? I could always force you along," Kai suggested with a chipper smile. "And I'm a sociopath not a psycho. Those are two very different things."

"Like Bonnie is going to let you complete this merge without my consent."

"You sound awfully sure of that, sissy. I wouldn't be if I were you."

"Why not?" Jo's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Because dad's going to kill Bonnie and all of her little friends if he ever escapes. Now I'm not Bonnie, but I have a pretty good idea what she is going to do. And if she won't go along with it? Well guess what, I don't like it, but I can siphon her. No magic Bonster isn't much of a threat."

Jo snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're seriously underestimating her and me."

Jo raised her arms and began to chant in Latin. Kai laughed, he snapped his fingers and she was frozen in place.

"Looks like you're coming with me and for your sake you better hope Bonnie came through. Because one way or another, I will be our new leader before the day is over."

XXX

Bonnie had just finished the spell when Kai walked inside the room. He levitated Jo in front of him. She was squirming against the invisible bonds. And she looked furious, but not as much as a sound came out of her mouth.

Bonnie's jaw dropped.

"What did you do to her?"

"She wouldn't come willingly and she tried to attack me."

"Let her go."

"Let her go?" Kai gaped. "Did you hear that she attacked me?"

"Yeah, and I figure you threatened her first."

Kai smirked. "Can't argue with that."

"Just let her go. I found a way for you both to survive the merge. I just have to cast a little spell before the merge. And Jo you can leave with the kids," Bonnie promised.

Jo squirmed even harder.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Kai," Bonnie said. "Let her go before I set you on fire. And yes, I know you don't heal like a vampire."

"Fine, but if she attacks us again that's on you, Bonster."

Kai snapped his fingers. Jo fell to the floor and howled like an angry cat. Bonnie rushed to help her up, but Jo brushed her off.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Jo said from between clenched teeth. "Not that you care."

"I didn't tell him to attack you!" Bonnie protested before turning to Kai. "Kidnapping Jo wasn't the plan. What were you thinking? She's your sister."

Kai shrugged and bit down on his bottom lip. He sent her a heated look.

"I want what is mine."

"You won't die," Bonnie said. "You can take the kids and leave. Kai has promised he won't harm them."

"Liv and Luke?" Jo asked with a flicker of hope in her eyes.

Bonnie didn't think Jo trust Kai. But there was a chance she would believe Bonnie.

"As long as the little rugrats never merge, I will let them live," Kai said. "But I want a blood oath from the both of them the second they are old enough to merge. Refuse and I will hunt you all down and do what I have been planning for years."

Bonnie gaped at Kai and shuddered. Her psychic feeling, the ones her Grams always told her to listen to were going crazy. She kept seeing flashes of blood and Kai trailing a bloody bat down the second-floor hallway.

"Don't you dare," Bonnie hissed.

Kai smirked. "Well if sissy and the brats keep up their end of the bargain there will be no need for that."

"Oh my God," Jo groaned and rose to her feet, a furious look had settled on her face. "You fucking psycho! Don't you get it? The only other person as obsessed with ruling our coven is dad!"

"If I had feelings that might actually hurt them."

Bonnie shot him a disgusted look. "Kai, I swear I will set you on fire."

Kai rolled his eyes and grimaced.

"If you promise their safety, I will do it," Jo said. "But I need a blood oath from you first."

"No, I need one from the twins," Kai said.

Bonnie sighed. It was like seeing the Salvatore brothers in action. It didn't take her long to realize if she wanted this resolved she would have to do it herself. Like always. Bonnie was starting to think boys whether they were warlocks or vampires were equally useless. Although Jo was being every bit as uncooperative so maybe it was just people in general.

"You are a sociopath, why should I trust you?"

"Why should I trust you? You've got so little brains you dated Jason."

"This from the guy, who slept with Heather?"

"Here's an idea," Bonnie snapped thinking how happy she was she didn't have siblings. "You both make a blood oath right now where Kai promises not to hurt the kids if you go through with the merge. And Jo you swear to make the twins swear a bloodoath promising never to merge once they are old enough. How's that?"

Kai looked mildly impressed. "Deal."

"Fine," Jo said through clenched teeth. "But if this merge thing does end up killing me, I am going full Poltergeist on both your asses."

"Noted," Kai said with a chipper smile.

"Haven't seen it," Bonnie said with a shrug.

Kai's jaw dropped open. "You haven't seen it? What kind of monster are you?"

"I'm not stuck in the eighties or nineties or wherever the hell you're from."

Kai rolled his eyes and clapped his hands together. "Aside from Bonnie's spectacularly bad taste in movies, what do you say we get this show on the road?"

"We need a coven, dummy," Jo said giving Kai side eye.

"I know that," Kai said with another eye roll. "The New Englanders are on their way."

Bonnie felt a nervous twinge in the bottom of her stomach at the thought of what they were about to do.

 **Thank you so much to everyone, who has read, reviewed, faved and followed this fic. I hope you are all safe and healthy! I know things are crazy right now, but I hope everyone is as well as can be expected. I hope you like this chapter, I almost got whiplash writing it because so much happened in such a short chapter, lmao. I'm fireismyelement97 on tumblr if you want to request a bonkai or kennett drabble.**

 **\- Izzy**

 **Guest: You and I are totally on the same wavelength and I love it! Lol, you know Kai is going to be all in if it's a chance to get naked with Bonnie. Yay, another Damon-hater! I love writing Bonnie kicking Damon's ass so that may happen in this fic.**

 **Guest: Can't she just have them both? Girl, lmao, I love it! But sorry, she has to choose. I don't imagine Kai or Kol are really crazy about sharing.**

 **Guest: Awe, omg! I am so happy to hear you feel it's like watching a show, I'm blushing.**


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

The New Englanders arrived right on schedule accompanied by Sheila and Lucy. Not one of them looked happy about what was about to happen. Cassie looked resolved as did Nick, but the rest looked nervous. And Bonnie could understand. They were counting on Kai to release them from the coven, which given how unpredictable he was, was like making a deal with the devil.

"I'll cast the spell for an eclipse," Bonnie said. "Lucy and Grams will help me. Once that's done, it's all you."

Bonnie, Lucy and Sheila stood in a circle. They held hands and a single black candle burned at the center. The air was thick with magic and electricity. As one they chanted.

"Nocte illa. Mane usque ad vesperam. Eius solem. et luna in ortum diei extremo sita est. Tenebris noctium proferre. Eclipsis vocat. Sit nox illa."

Bonnie felt her magic rise inside of her. It roared to life and crashed through her like a tidal wave. Lucy's and Sheila's magic joined hers. It was a crescendo and Bonnie felt something more powerful than herself take her over. She no longer knew where she began and her family ended. They were one. All that existed was the magic.

Three more times they spoke the magic words. Each time their voices rose a little louder and finally, the candle burst into flames. Then with a loud whoosh it flickered out.

The spell felt as if it was cut short and Bonnie fell to her knees. Sheila buckled and Adam rushed to catch her. Lucy wiped blood from her nose.

"It's done," Lucy breathed.

Bonnie stared around the room in amazement at the darkness that had descended. The spell had been a rush. Her whole body sparked with electricity and she could feel the residual magic from the spell casting in the air. Channeling Sheila and Lucy was powerful, they had power that matched her own.

"I wonder what the humans will make of this," Lucy said with a wicked smile as she glanced out the window.

"Oh, they will have some theory to explain away the impossibility of an unscheduled eclipse," Sheila said. "Believe me, I have seen it a hundred times before."

"Really?" Bonnie asked. "What happened to all your lessons on secrecy?"

"Practice stealth when you can however, some things are too fantastical to be believed," Sheila replied. "Now you lot," she snapped her fingers at the Geminis. "Get to it."

"Yes, ma'am," Kai agreed with a broad grin.

Jo looked paler than usual and her skin had a green hue to it. Her eyes were wide and scared. Bonnie smiled in a way she hoped was reassuring.

"You'll be just fine, Jo."

Jo nodded, but Bonnie's words had done nothing to diminish the fear in her eyes.

Bonnie and the rest of her family took a step back. The Geminis all gathered around Jo and Bonnie watched with bated breath as they cast the spell to keep Jo alive.

XXX

Kai personally didn't care one way or the other if Jo survived the merge or not. If she kicked the bucket, he would be free to get rid of the rest of his siblings. But he knew Bonnie might never speak to him again if he went down that road. So he supposed it was best for him as well if this whole deal of theirs went the way it was meant to.

"Custodire et facere mortale. Tolle quod mysticum, quod est Ordinarius et relinquam. Ut essentia est, sed non vitam."

Kai could feel the change in the air when the spell was complete. The air was full of magic and he breathed it in.

Soon, he would have magic for real. There was no doubt in his mind he would come out the winner. The merge was equal parts mental fortitude and strength. Since they were children, Jo had always been the scaredy-cat while Kai was the risk-taker. He saw what he wanted and he took it. When someone tried to bully him, they discovered a monster underneath the surface. When someone tried to bully Jo she came crying to him and he took care of that too. Proving he actually did care about Jo unlike what she herself believed.

The Geminis took a step back and he moved toward Jo. She looked at him with wide eyes. He didn't know what fear felt like, but he knew that was what he saw in her eyes.

"Ready, sissy?"

"Ready as I will ever be."

"Thank you for this," Kai said and found he meant it.

"Go fuck yourself."

Kai chortled. Then he took her hands in his.

XXX

The merge had barely started and in the next second Jo fell to the floor. Bonnie cried out and rushed to her side. Others clustered around Jo on the floor. Bonnie cupped her face and tried to wake her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nick check her pulse.

Kai was on the floor to except no one was worried about him. Bonnie was, but she knew he was alive. It was Jo, who had taken the biggest risk today. She had walked in here not knowing whether or not she would walk out again and Bonnie had promised her she would.

"I can't find a pulse," Nick whispered.

"Let me see," Sheila shoved everyone out of the way until she was kneeling next to Jo. She felt around for a pulse. She looked up at Bonnie with a grief stricken expression. Her lips were pursed into a thin line and the wrinkles around her eyes seemed deeper somehow. "I'm sorry, but she is gone."

"No," Bonnie said and shook her head. "No, no god no! I promised her -" a sob caught in her throat. "I promised her she would be fine."

Tears streamed down Bonnie's face.

"I'm sorry honey. Kai – poor boy," Sheila's expression grew heavy with grief. "She was so young."

Bonnie cradled Jo in her arms and cried. This was her fault. She was the one, who had made the deal with Kai. She was the one, who had promised Jo she would live and now she was dead.

Nick checked on Kai.

"He's alive," Nick said looking at Kai in disgust. "Unfortunately."

Nick gave Kai a kick. Bonnie barely noticed. Portland wasn't meant to be more grief and death. She was supposed to have a chance here and now a friend of hers was dead.

XXX

There was a second part to all of this, they needed to send Joshua to a prison world. However, after Jo's death none of the others felt up to it. Kai would probably be rearing to get going when he woke up, Bonnie thought as she watched him sleep. But he would damn well have to wait. Not that he had a choice, he needed his magic plus a Bennett's and she wasn't cooperating.

A half-crazed plan to bring back from the dead was racing through her mind. If she called on every spirit she knew (Kol had taught her spirit magic), the forces of nature and had Jo's body she might just be able to bring her back. The only thing she couldn't work out was how to rebalance the scales. No matter, who she had studied with they kept emphasizing the need for balance. That they were nature's servants. Bonnie had learned power alone was not enough. Nature demanded a balance and even if she pulled the spell off in the moment there would be consequences. Ones so bad even Kol had warned her against disrespecting nature.

"You know I think I could bring her back," Bonnie said both to Kai and to no one. Maybe it would draw him out. He looked pale and sick. He certainly didn't look like the Gemini's new leader, but Sheila assured her this was normal. Apparently, she had gone through the Gemini grimoires. "But if I did that I might accidentally turn her into an Original vampire or something worse. Jo wouldn't want that."

Bonnie had been doing reading from the Gemini's grimoires herself. In the books she had studied a magic without consequence it was called Expression. But it required human sacrifice and she wasn't up for that.

"Don't even think about it, child."

Bonnie looked around and saw Sheila had made the climb to Kai's bedroom. She shouldn't have been surprised. Her Grams might be older, but she was still strong and in good shape even with the booze.

"Can't help thinking about it, but I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"See that you do. He'll wake up soon."

Sheila gave her one last knowing look before going back downstairs.

Bonnie reached for Kai's hand. She knew it was stupid and she was still angry with him for how all of this had played, but in a way, it wasn't his fault any more than it was hers. The truth was Joshua had backed them into a corner.

Kai's hand was clammy and cold, but the touch of his palm was rough and familiar. She brushed his hair away from his forehead. It was matted with sweat.

How long she sat like that until Kai murmured something she had no idea.

"Kai?"

Kai twisted and turned. His eyes flew open and he sat upright. A burning pain shot through her hand she cried out in pain. She tried to escape his grip, but he clung to her. Bonnie whimpered and fell forward.

Then the pain was gone. There were hands on her face, fingers caressing her cheeks gently.

"Bonnie? Bunny, are you alright? I thought - I thought you were someone else. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Kai?"

She looked up at him and saw he looked genuinely distraught. There were tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry for all of it."

"Bullshit," she hissed. "You're the same as ever."

Bonnie stood and was halfway to the door in the blink of an eye. Fear and rage had spurred her to move almost as fast as a vampire. She happened to glance behind her just to see if Kai was stalking her the way he normally did, but he was just watching her with this broken hearted expression. For the first time, Bonnie felt as if she had kicked a puppy. That was scarier than anything Kai could have done because it was all too close to normal emotion.

Frantic, Bonnie scurried out of the room. Once she was safely out in the hallway, she ran smackdab into Nick's chest. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Let me guess, Kai freaked you out by being his usual homicidal self."

"Kind of," Bonnie grimaced. "Well at first he was himself then – then he apologized and actually looked sorry."

Nick scoffed. "I've seen some crazy shit, but Kai acting like an actual person? I'll never believe that."

"Go see for yourself. Just fair warning, don't let him get his hands on you."

"I find with Kai it's always sound to keep a safe distance."

XXX

Kai didn't know what was wrong with him. Bonnie snapping at him had completely shut him up. He couldn't even think of a reply let alone actually get the words out of his mouth. Instead, he had stared at her as all of the pain he had caused her hit him like a ton of bricks.

In the past, he had thought he cared about Bonnie, but now he had all of these new feelings that made it look pathetic. He could appreciate all of the same things he had liked about her before, but there was something deeper there now. Something that knocked all of the air straight out of his lungs.

Bonnie was kind and brave yet he had used her like a pawn. He'd tried to bully, trick and negotiate her into being his. All because in his fucked up head, she was already his thanks to one word from Joshua. And Kai had been selfish enough to treat her like she was a possession. But Bonnie wasn't his. She didn't belong to anyone. She was too much of everything to ever fully belong to anyone.

Fuck, he had royally fucked up. Beyond anything he could have ever imagined. And how could he have? Before he didn't have the emotional capacity to comprehend this.

Oh fuck.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he realized he had actual emotions now.

"Well fuck that sucks," he groaned and fell back against the bed. "How the fuck did I get sissy's emotions?"

XXX

It was days later and still nothing had been done about Joshua. He was still at Elijah's. Meanwhile, Bonnie had done everything in her power to avoid Kai and Kol. She hadn't been to school, but her Grams had called and explained she was taking some time off. Easy enough to explain as everyone believed Jo had run away.

The Gemini coven had done what they always did post merge, cast a confusion spell on the local population. It took power, but together they could make all of Portland including the police believe Jo had died in a car accident. If there were more deaths it was harder, the bigger the lie and the confusion the more power it took. For most covens even this was more than they could manage. Yet no one had thought to ask where Joshua was, which was a relief. It was one less problem to deal with.

"How are you feeling today, honey?"

Sheila put a teacup down in front of Bonnie. She stared listlessly always appeared to see the things Bonnie wanted to hide the most.

Bonnie shrugged. "It's my fault. How am I supposed to feel?"

"You didn't kill Jo. That poor child never had a snowball's chance in hell. Her family saw to that. But you did what you could to put things right. That takes strength and character and courage. All things I hoped you would grow up to be."

Bonnie threw her arms around Sheila' neck. At least all of this insanity had helped mend her relationship to Sheila. They were back to how they had been before the Originals walked into Mystic Falls.

"Thanks Grams, but I still feel like it's my fault."

"Well that gets easier with time. That's all I can tell you. For now, we need to see to it that the Geminis get their house in order. I'll see to it no one takes notice of Joshua's absence until Kai's more stable."

This was the moment Bonnie had been dreading.

"I can't face, Kai. He's pretending to feel."

"Alright, honey. Lucy and I will take care of that."

"Is she still dating Rebekah?"

"I believe she is," Sheila said. "If you can call what they are doing dating."

Bonnie repressed a smile.

"Thanks. I just can't face him. Not after everything that's happened."

"I understand."

Bonnie finished her tea and left for school. She had transferred to another gym class, which made avoiding Kai easier. Well that and he rarely bothered to show up to class anymore. At least that was what Cassie told her.

As for Kol he had skipped town days ago. Rebekah told her when they ran into each other at school one day. Rebekah was only sticking around as long as Lucy was in town.

Kol had tried to see Bonnie before he left, but Sheila had refused to let him in the apartment. Kol had shouted her name until he finally realized she really didn't want to see him. She hadn't seen or heard from him since, which was for the best even if it hurt.

"English class is this way, Bonnie," Cassie said appearing at her side with a smile. When she saw Bonnie's face her expression changed to concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Kind of."

"It wasn't your fault. This is a fucked-up Gemini family tradition that they should have put an end to generations ago. You tried."

Bonnie was starting to get sick of hearing this from everyone.

"I know, but I just can't handle it right now. Not with the whole sending Joshua to a prison world for eternity thing coming up."

"Seems kind of extreme to me," Cassie sniffed. "I'm sure Kai can think of another way to handle him. The only reason we planned it in the first place was so that Joshua would be out of the way for when Kai and Jo merged, but Kai's coven leader now. He holds all the card."

"We aren't killing anyone."

"Did I say anything about killing anyone?"

"No, but I know it's what Kai will do otherwise."

"Not if you talk him out of it."

"Can't," Bonnie shook her head. "There's no reasoning with that sociopath and I just can't -"

"Nick says he might not be acting."

Bonnie snorted. "I used to think he could change, but he proved me wrong. He faked guilt after the merge. I don't know why, but that just made me so much sicker than anything else he's ever done. And I just don't get why this bugs me more than all his other crap."

"Because it's fake. Kai has always been a dick, but he's usually fairly upfront about it," Cassie said in the air of someone talking about the weather.

It was times like now, Bonnie found it strange that one of her best friends in Portland was another one of Kai's exes.

"You might be right."

Bonnie didn't get a chance to say anything else because Kai was standing in front of her. Right in the middle of the hallway. Looking at her like a deer caught in the headlights. It was more than she could handle.

"If I see you again, I'll melt your face off."

Bonnie turned on her heel and hurried away.

"Bonnie!" Kai called after her.

She didn't care. If anything, it made her break into a run.

Bonnie made it all the way to the parking lot before she realized no one was following her. She looked around and couldn't wrap her mind around it. Kai was nowhere in sight. She reached out with her magic and didn't sense him anywhere.

Why would Kai just let her go? That was completely out of character. Every other time she ran or tried to get away from him, he followed.

Her phone rang, startling her. She jumped and let out a shaky laugh. Clearly, she was on edge if the sound of her phone ringing was too much to take.

"Hey," Bonnie said answering without really checking the screen.

"Bonnie, oh my God!" Caroline squealed.

The sound of her voice was so familiar, Bonnie grinned.

"How are you?"

"I am fabulous. You know how I am dating Matt, right?"

"No, I had no idea. How did that happen? Tell me everything."

"I'm not actually sure myself," Caroline said with a laugh. "I guess we were both kind of lonely with you in Portland and Elena visiting her aunt out of town."

So that was where everyone believed Elena was, Bonnie thought. She wondered what sort of compulsion tricks Elijah had pulled to cover for her absence. Of course, thinking about Elena was depressing. The last time they had talked, they had argued. Bonnie was tempted to call her and apologize, but Elena hadn't called her either. She still didn't see why it was so wrong for her to want her friend to have a normal life. It had been one thing with Stefan, Bonnie had thought he was the exception. Not that vampires would become a regular thing with her. Kol was a one-off.

It wasn't as if Bonnie had the same choice. She couldn't just walk away from being a witch and have a normal life. Lucy had even warned her about that. She said trying to hide from your heritage only guaranteed it followed you. Of course, just like Sheila, she had warned Bonnie to stay away from vampire business. A rule she noticed Lucy didn't stick to herself. Not that Bonnie was any better.

"I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks, he's so much better than Damon that I don't even know what to do with him," Caroline giggled.

Bonnie laughed. "You sound happy."

"I am," Caroline sighed. "But anyway, I kind of called with an ulterior motive."

"What kind?"

"I'm coming to Portland with Matt in a few days and I already talked to Kai. He's planning another party and I wanted to make sure you would be up for it."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Kai mentioned his sister has been missing for a while now. He sounded really broken up about it."

"I'm sure," Bonnie muttered.

"Like really heartbroken and he was worried about you. Said you and Jo were close."

"We were," Bonnie echoed.

Although she was starting to wonder how close they really had been. After all, she had let Jo die. Had led her straight to it. Now when the authorities were looking into it, she had allowed Kai and the Geminis to hide it. When rightfully, she and Kai and anyone else, who had been involved should be in jail.

"Hey," Cassie said catching up.

"I have to go, Care," Bonnie said. "But I'm looking forward to seeing you."

"Why don't we get out here? We have to send Joshua off now that Kai is awake and recovered. Guess that means you get to repeat the eclipse spell."

"Fun," Bonnie said sarcastically.

"Cheer up," Cassie said with a bright smile. "This will all be over soon."

"Let's just get this over with."

These days that felt like it was fast becoming Bonnie's default mood. Lately, it felt like everything she had to do was stuff she wanted over with as fast as possible. Just this once, she wanted her activities to consist of things normal teen girls did. Like she used to do with her friends back in Mystic Falls.

Bonnie jumped in her car and Cassie agreed to meet her at the Parker house. When she arrived at the Parker house, she found kids running around screaming. Kyle was playing his Playstation. Bonnie picked up Liv and shushed her.

"Kyle, you take Luke."

"Why?"

"Because he's your brother and he is crying. Jo isn't here and I only have two arms. Now help me out here. Where the hell has Kai been?" she demanded.

Two minutes in the Parker house and she already felt like she was losing her mind. How had Jo done this for all those years?

"Shut up about, Jo."

Kyle looked furious and unshed tears pooled in his eyes as he picked up Luke.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Kyle. You have no idea how sorry I am. I miss Jo too."

Kyle turned his back to her and at first, she thought he was pissed at her, but then she realized he was hiding his tears.

"Sooner or later I was going to lose a sibling anyway."

"Still," Bonnie rocked Liv. "How long has it been since any of you ate anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe yesterday night. I ordered pizza. Diana and Adam bring food by at least once a day."

"Oh my God. Where is Kai in all of this?"

"In his room," Kyle said. "He is seriously freaking me out and not because he's being his usual psycho self. He's - I don't know different."

"Different how?"

"The twins were crying last night and Annie and Katie couldn't get them to stop so I went upstairs to see if Kai maybe might help. I knew it was a long-shot, but we were desperate. I think I actually heard him cry."

"What?" Bonnie stared at him. "Kai was crying?"

"Pretty sure yeah. What's going on with him?"

"I honestly don't know, but this -" she waved at the twins and the two older girls, who were still running in circles screaming. "Has to stop. I'll stay here tonight. Do you have homework?"

"No."

Bonnie looked at him the same way her Grams used to look at her when she was lying as a child. "Don't you?"

"Yes."

"The girls?"

"Probably."

"Alright," Bonnie nodded. "Clean clothes?"

"Fairly alright. Cassie and Nick did some laundry for us yesterday."

Bonnie burned with shame. The New Englanders had stepped up to fill Jo's shoes. Meanwhile, Bonnie had hid from everything. She had stayed at Sheila's place avoiding her responsibilities.

"And your grandma comes by sometimes," Annie said.

"She brought us a week's worth of food," Katie said. "She promised to come back tomorrow."

"Frozen casseroles and stuff. It's in the freezer," Kyle said.

That explained all of the cooking Sheila had done. Bonnie had been so dazed, she hadn't even noticed. Just like it whenever it crossed her mind that the kids would need adults, she just assumed the Gemini elders would step up. She should have known they wouldn't. It's not like any of them looked in on the kids before.

Did the Gemini elders even know what had happened?

"Alright, you three get started on your homework. I'll put the twins down for a nap and put dinner on."

Sending Joshua to the prison world could wait until the kids were tucked into bed. She could sleep on the couch. It wasn't ideal, but the idea of sleeping in Jo's or Joshua's room didn't feel right. But helping the kids out felt right. This was where she should have been all along.

Bonnie carried Liv on one hip and Luke on the other. The twins were getting bigger. Luke wrapped his arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I miss you, Bunny."

Bonnie considered correcting him about her name, but let it go. He had obviously picked up Bunny from Kai. She wondered when exactly Kai had taken the time to chat with Luke or Liv for that matter, but maybe it was a sign he really had changed like Kyle and Nick seemed to think.

"I missed you too, Lukie. And Liv."

Liv yawned and then her head was on Bonnie's shoulder.

Bonnie wondered how long it had been since the twins took a nap.

Finally, she was at their bedroom. She managed to open the door with her foot. Three minutes in and she was already impressed with Jo.

Bonnie put Liv down in her crib first then Luke in his. She tucked them both in. She needed to talk to her Grams about them because she was sure they were too old for cribs. But it wouldn't hurt to check with a responsible adult.

"Can you sing us a song?" Liv asked.

At least that was what Bonnie thought she said. Liv didn't speak very clearly.

"Jo sings."

"Where's Jo?" Liv asked.

"She's -" Bonnie choked back tears. "She's in heaven."

Bonnie wasn't sure witches went to heaven, but it didn't matter. A few lies to spare two little kids the harsh truth of what happened to their sister was a kindness.

She remembered then how Kol had told her about the Other Side. How it was a separate place for supernatural creatures and that witches roamed freely there. She supposed maybe she wasn't entirely lying to the twins. Maybe it was the witch equivalent of heaven.

"That's what Kyle says and Cassie."

"When will we see her again?"

"Not for a while, but she's watching over you," Bonnie said and stroked Liv's cheek.

She kissed Luke's forehead. Then she turned off the big light and plugged in the night light. She sang a lullaby and by the time she was done both kids were out cold.

Bonnie crept out of the room quietly and closed the door. She knew normally it wasn't that easy. She had put the twins down for their nap before. Most days it took almost an hour. But they were probably tired and missed their routine.

The freezer was in the basement and she found about four different casseroles from her Grams. She had the twins, the girls and Kyle to feed as well as herself. After a moment of contemplation she grabbed two lasagnas and brought them upstairs.

She stuck them in the oven and hoped it was the right temperatures. She didn't cook much. She checked the fridge and cupboards, almost cleaned out of food. On top of it the kitchen was a mess so she started cleaning. Under the sink she found it was overflowing with pizza boxes.

"How much pizza have you kids been eating?" Bonnie said over her shoulder.

Annie, Katie and Kyle looked up from their homework. Joey just stared listlessly at his textbook. That from a little kid was way more worrisome than anything else Bonnie had seen today.

"A lot."

"That stops now. From now I'm staying here, alright?"

"Alright," Kyle said with a cool guy nod and went back to his school.

Annie and Katie squealed before running over. They hugged her tightly and squealed.

"We miss you, Bonnie!"

"It's been so weird without Jo!"

"I miss Jo!"

Then all three of them were crying and hugging each other. Two seconds later, Kyle was crying too. Bonnie waved him over and she was hugging all three kids.

"Has it just been you and Kai?" Bonnie asked.

"No, the New Englanders take turns spending the night on the couch."

That was a relief because the twins were only two.

"But like Kai hasn't left his room in weeks. Not until today."

That didn't sound like Kai. His pre-merge self never would have put off his schemes for a second let alone weeks. Maybe the merge had messed him up for real.

"Well I'm staying here from now on if that's alright with you?"

This was followed by a chorus of agreement.

"Bonnie?"

She looked up and saw Kai standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yes, you kids go do your homework."

"Alright."

They ran back to the living room. Except for Kyle, who sauntered behind them.

"Who has been taking them to school?" she asked Kai.

Kai just stared at her so she checked the lasagnas. Then started chopping up vegetables for a salad. Kai joined her and she did her best to ignore him. It was annoying how good he was at even that. She snuck a peek at him out of the corner of her eye, it might have been her imagination, but he looked a little taller and a little broader.

Did the merge come with physical changes? Not to say she was sure she believed Kai about the emotional ones yet.

"Cassie and Nick for the most part, I think," Kai said. "Cassie yelled at me at school today for leaving the kids all alone. I told her I'd handle things from now."

"Surprised she didn't do it sooner."

"Probably would have if she could have figured a way into the attic."

That almost made Bonnie laugh.

"Why haven't the coven elders been around?"

It bothered Bonnie that the only real adult, who had checked in was Sheila.

"I don't think the New Englanders have told the coven yet. From what I hear Nick has been posing as dear old dad when necessary."

Normally, this was something that Kai would find funny. Bonnie was starting to find this serious side of him unsettling.

"What?" Bonnie stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Bon, we merged four years early, which is not only flies in the face of tradition, but is totally prohibited. Now we're planning to ship the former leader off to a prison world. Also not cool."

"Makes sense," Bonnie shrugged. "But about your dad if you need a Bennett for that it's going to have to wait. I have to help out with the kids."

"Alright," Kai said. "I really fucked up with my siblings, but I promise I'm going to do better."

"Could hardly to worse," she muttered.

"True," Kai admitted, which was also unlike him. "Still, the worst thing I ever did was how I treated you. You didn't deserve that. And I don't know how to make it up to you."

"Just - just don't," Bonnie said. "I think I actually liked you better when you didn't have feelings. Just take care of dinner. I'm going to check on the twins."

"You're sticking around?"

"Of course, I am. Do you honestly think I would trust you alone with those kids? If I had known – I would have been here sooner."

"Thanks."

"Go to hell," Bonnie said over her shoulder. "We had a deal and that's fine. But don't think I'll ever forgive you for what happened to Jo."

XXX

Sheila came by after dinner. She had a pile of clothes and things for the kids.

"Poor dears," Sheila said with a soft look toward Katie, who had fallen asleep on the couch. "Are you staying here tonight?"

"I'm staying as long as they need me," Bonnie said quietly. "Which judging by the state of things here and with the Geminis might be forever."

Sheila tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You're a good kid, Bon. Will you be alright? My sabbatical from Whitmore is almost up."

"How soon is almost?"

"About a day," Sheila said. "But I have applied for a job at the university here."

"Really?"

"Really," Sheila said with a smile. "And if I don't get the job then maybe it's time for me to retire."

"I think you should," Bonnie said. "You can come live here in Portland with me."

"Yes, and I will, child. Once I have everything arranged. It's hard to move when you're my age."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You're not _that_ old, Grams."

"Now you get some rest. I know your father has a surprise for you in a couple of days."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Exactly what kind of surprise would it be if I told you?"

"Fair enough," Bonnie conceded. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"I can't. I need to go over the syllabus and talk Lucy through the prison world spell."

"You won't be here then?"

"Child, we were supposed to cast it tonight. I talked to Diana about taking care of kids in the meantime," Sheila explained with another guilty look toward the sleeping child. "I shouldn't even be taking time off this close finals. I'll be back in June. I'm trusting you kids to hold down the fort in the meantime."

Bonnie could read between the lines easily enough. Sheila had also talked to the New Englanders about keeping an eye on her. Fortunately, it seemed Bonnie had decided to rejoin the world just in time.

"And Lucy?"

"She has promised to stay until I return and if there is any trouble, Elijah is only a phone call away."

Bonnie snorted. "I'm not going anywhere near vampires ever again and that includes getting help from them."

"Good," Sheila said with an approving glint in her eye.

Bonnie walked her out. She hugged Sheila and she hung on for a lot longer than necessary. She wasn't ready to let her Grams go, but she knew she had to. Sheila would be back and Bonnie wasn't the same girl she had been when she left Mystic Falls.

She stayed in the doorway and watched Sheila drive away. Once her Grams was out of sight, she locked the front door. Then she tapped on the door three times. It was a simple yet efficient charm of protection. No one with ill intentions would make it across the threshold tonight.

When she returned to the living room, Katie was still out like a light. It seemed cruel to wake her so Bonnie picked her up as gently as she could. Katie's head fell on her shoulder and she carried her upstairs.

By the time she reached Katie and Annie's room, Bonnie was sweating from the strain of carrying Katie. She lay her down on the bed and first then did she look around properly. At some point recently, the two girls had pushed their beds together. And Bonnie's heart broke when she saw Annie, Joey, Kyle and even the little twins were crowded in.

Bonnie was about to turn off the nightlight when Katie caught her wrist.

"Will you stay in here tonight with us, Bonnie?"

"Sure," Bonnie sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair. "How long have you been awake?"

"A while," Katie said with a wry smile.

"Oh, I see," Bonnie giggled. "You were just too lazy to climb the stairs."

"Maybe."

Bonnie laughed and hugged her.

The room was filled with sleep noises and it took her forever before she fell asleep. Eventually, she drifted off lulled by the warmth and safety of the kids. It felt like being surrounded by family.

XXX

Kai found the house too quiet now. He had tried to go for a run to clear his head. But he still felt all messed up. It was how he had felt since the merge. He had all of these emotions and for someone, who wasn't accustomed to emotions it was unpleasant.

He wandered aimlessly wondering if maybe Bonnie wasn't still awake and roaming around. He had no delusions that Bonnie was here for him and not the kids. But he was still hoping for something or really anything. All he knew was that he always had some kind of feelings for Bonnie. Before it had probably been more obsession than affection, but he had cared about her as much as he was capable of back then.

Now?

Now she was all he could think of. He had this ache in his chest just thinking about how he had hurt her and a lump in stomach. He needed to make things right somehow. He didn't think he could be at peace until she forgave him, which was insane.

The last place he had expected to find her was in his sibling's room. On the same bed as literally all of them. At least those that remained. He could still see Jo's face whenever he closed his eyes. It was an image that would haunt him to his death.

Kai was shocked anyone could anything else so deeply. No wonder people were always angry and frustrated with him for not feeling more.

As if sensing his presence, Bonnie woke with a start. She sat up and eyed him suspiciously. Liv and Luke, who were in either of her arms fussed and she adjusted them, making shushing noises.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie whispered, but even so her suspicion was evident.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Apparently, no one in your family can," she said with a glance toward the kids.

"I really did fuck everything up for them."

"Yes, you did."

Kai stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. Anything he said would be inadequate and they both knew it. Instead, he decided to try voicing his feelings. "Room for one more?"

"I guess," Bonnie said slowly still eyeing him with that mixture of anger and distrust. "But why?"

Kai sat down on the edge of the bed. "Not really sure. I've been messed up ever since the merge and I keep having these feelings and nothing I try seems to stop them. I even tried burning a photo, I read online it's supposed to help, but it didn't. Just made me cry so I figure if I can't stop them maybe I can give in to them? It's what everyone else does. And you all seem to manage living with emotions."

Kai grimaced as if the mere thought of his own emotions were too much. And maybe they were as a former sociopath.

"Gee, thanks," Bonnie huffed, but she didn't look like her heart was in it. "I still don't see why you can't just go upstairs to your room. If memory serves you have a big comfy bed all to yourself."

"Because every time I close my eyes, I see her."

His confession came quietly. So quietly, Kai wasn't sure Bonnie even heard him at first.

"Fine, you can stay."

Kai hid his smile. He was afraid – now there was definitely a new emotion, if Bonnie saw how happy it made him, she would give him the boot.

He slid in next to her and shifted Luke over to his other side. Luke mumbled something, stuck his thumb in his mouth and pressed himself closer all without waking up. Luke was so tiny and Kai realized he'd never actually held one of the twins before, not really. It was strangely comforting.

On his other side, he pulled Bonnie closer. Her head rested on his shoulder, he felt her hesitate, only for a second but then she gave in. She was warm and soft, he put his head on hers and breathed in her familiar scent.

"The deal's off. You can stay or leave or whatever you want really. I know you can't return to Mystic Falls, but you can stay here for as long as you like."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Huh, maybe you're not a total dick after all."

Kai laughed and it felt good. Bonnie turned into him shifted until she was comfortable. He kissed her forehead and she sighed. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy her warmth and softness.

 **This was supposed to be up on Thursday, but I have spent the past several days napping. Wrapping up my term paper and moving home nearly killed me, but I hope it was worth the wait. English translation of the chant: night to day. day to night. cover the sun. let the moon rise at the brink of day. bring forth the darkest of nights. i summon the eclipse. let day become night. Which is in Latin.**

 **\- Izzy**

 **Guest: Here's that next chapter you asked for!**

 **Guest: Thanks, here's the update.**

 **Guest: Lol, girl you crack me up. I am working up to them doing the deed!**

 **Guest: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Yass, I love anti-Damons. We all have suffered from canon TVD way too much.**

 **Guest: Here's more, lol!**

 **Guest: Yass, you know Kol is a hot asshole. Don't worry there is lots of Kai coming up. Thanks for reading!**


End file.
